COPYRIGHT

Copyright © 2015 by Mark Condon.

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

All photographers’ images remain the copyright of each individual photographer and have been reproduced with their permission.

Any use of the respective photographers’ images contained within this book is forbidden without their express written permission.

First Published, 2015

Alexandria, NSW 2015 Australia www.shotkit.com

1 DISCLAIMERDISCLAIMER

The views and opinions expressed in this book are those of the respective photographers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the author.

External links may include affiliate tracking. This in no way affects the cost of the final product.

Any small commission generated by affiliate purchases go into the maintenance and upkeep of the Shotkit site,, which offers all its information completely free of charge.

Thank you for your support.

2 FOREWORDFOREWORD

Photography is a pursuit where the equipment garners almost as much attention as the art we use it to produce. Despite the less-is-more mantra of the purists who encourage a limited gear collection as a way to reduce distraction, each new release seems to attract familiar symptoms of Gear Acquisition Syndrome. - the unfounded desire to have the latest and the greatest.

Is it wrong that we simply desire to advance our abilities through the purchase of these items? They may be unnecessary, but new gear promotes fresh enthusiasm for our art; the hope that our next picture will be better than our last.

Gear is not the solution but it is the motivation. Seeing your camera and in possession of the world’s finest photographers is motivation enough that you have all you need to produce a similar picture. It’s only practice and mastery of your craft that separates you from them now.

I don’t seek to encourage commercialism, but my advice is to purchase new gear if it keeps you motivated. If acquiring that new makes you believe you can take a better photo, then go ahead and buy it and be sure you do just that. Make the most of tomorrow’s advancements in technology to make better art than yesterday. Build up a gear collection to satisfy your wants, then reduce and refine what you use, to be left with a few select items that you master like an extension of your body.

3 As photographers, we already know that the cheapest camera has the ability to take the most powerful photo in the world if placed in the right hands, in the right place, at the right time. We don’t need the latest camera to take a better photo, but if it excites us and makes us believe we can, then that should be good enough.

For many, is a passion that encompasses both the art and the equipment, and it is for these people that I created Shotkit. Let’s celebrate both, rejoice in the inspiration and do whatever it takes to become the best photographers we can be.

- Mark

PS. If you enjoy the Shotkit Book and would like to earn a 25% reward for referring your friends, sign up to be a Shotkit Book affiliate here.

4 PHOTOGRAPHERS

5 Section 1 ROSS HARVEY

www.rossharvey.com

Emotive, geometric and artistic would be three words I would use to describe my work. Coming from a background in graphic design, I’m crazy about composition and creativity. I hold a Masters Degree in Advanced Computer Science, and have a well-developed geeky side. Got to love technology.

6 When I’m not taking photographs, I’m contemplating the cosmos – what it means to be human, how to generate/maintain happiness while exploring the realms of consciousness and quantum physics. As that lad Einstein said, “There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle”. I’m very much aligned with the latter :)

Although I have a fair bit of kit, I now use the D750 with the Nikon 35mm f/ 1.4G for nearly everything. Before this, I used to use the .

The other Canon gear (including the Canon 5D Mark III, Canon 50mm f/1.2 and Canon 135mm f/2) are for specific uses, especially portraits.

The Leica M3 is for film portraits, something I’ll be doing much more of this season. The Olympus OMD EM5 is my go to digital street photography camera. It’s insanely useful for that.

The little prism you see bottom right is one example of many – I like to shoot through things. It can turn a normal photograph into something magical!

I use three Nikon SB-900 ‘s, mainly because they tend to overheat (the Nikon SB-910 addressed that issue), but only for dance-floor and sometimes speeches. My preference, by far, is natural light.

I use the Think Tank Airport International bag, because simply, it’s the best travel bag ever, and while shooting, two Spider Belt Clips (dual ) and a Domke F-803 which holds three lenses and cards/batteries.

Ross Harvey’s Camera Gear

Cameras

7

Nikon D3s Olympus OMD EM5 Leica M3 Canon 5D Mark III

Lenses

Nikon 24mm f/1.4G Nikon 35mm f/1.4G Nikon 45mm f/2.8 Tilt Shift Nikon 85mm f/1.4G Canon 50mm f/1.2L Canon 135mm f/2L Olympus 25mm f/1.8 Leica 50mm Summicron

Other

Nikon SB-900 (x3) SpiderHolster Dual Belt Clips Think Tank Airport International Domke F-803

Interview with Ross Harvey

8 Section 2 NORDICA

www.nordicaphotography.com

Our names are Cole and Jakob, and we started Nordica Photography together in 2009 in Vancouver, Canada. Since then, we have photographed weddings around the world and for the time being, we are based out of Sweden.

9 From the day we started Nordica, we have made many mistakes with our gear and learned a lot. We have had too little gear at points, we’ve had too much gear at points, and now we’re aiming to find a balance that will not compromise quality or performance, yet lend to comfortable travelling.

We keep our gear subtle, mostly due to the travel. We have always used Nikon, but that’s not to say it’s better or worse then any other brand. It’s difficult to find a poor camera these days, so we’re not that rigged with brand loyalty.

The reason we use Nikon D750 bodies is for our line of work, we feel it’s inexcusable not to use the best equipment available. The only negative thing about the Nikon D750 bodies is you’ll never be able to blame your gear for missing a photo.

Since we travel light, prime lenses suit us perfectly with their small sizes and all-in- all, we don’t focus too much on our gear. We choose what we think are the best tools for us and that’s that.

Our lenses are all primes, and we feel that is the best way to communicate our vision. There is something simple about using prime lenses that lends the photography style to be more about compositions and communicating a moment, which is why we prefer this setup.

The Nikon 35mm f/1.4 is for sure what we predominantly use on the day of a wedding, whereas the Nikon 85mm f/1.8D acts as our longer lens for situations such as the ceremony or reception when we want to get closer to the emotions of the day without physically imposing.

The wider lens that we have – the Nikon 24mm f/2.8 – essentially is only used when it’s combined with our flashes for dancing pictures. The Nikon SB-700 and Yong

10 Nuo YN-560 II flashes we have are only used for dance pictures, and aside from that our style adheres entirely to natural light.

Cole & Jacob’s Camera Gear

Cameras

Nikon D750 (x4)

Lenses

Nikon 24mm f/2.8 x2 Nikon 35mm f/1.4G Nikon 50mm f/1.4G Sigma 35mm f/1.4 ART Nikon 85mm f/1.8D Nikon 85mm f/1.8G

Other

Nikon SB-700 Speedlight (x2) Yong Nuo YN-560 Speedlight (x2) Filson Harvey Backpack Compagnon Messenger Bag (x2) HoldFast MoneyMaker Strap (x2)

Interview with Nordica.

11 Section 3 BRUNO ROSA

www.brunorosaphoto.com

My Dad was a wedding photographer in the past, but unfortunately he died when I was very young so I never got a chance to learn with him. He is my biggest motivation and I’m sure he is proud of me being a wedding photographer now.

12 Back in 2009 when I started with my first camera the Nikon D90 and a Nikon 50mm f/1.4 I was shooting for free for about 1 year to get experience and knowledge and then I started shooting weddings.

I love what I do, so I put myself out there to practice all the time. I enjoy shooting weddings and work in the middle of that awesome atmosphere – I just feel like I’m not working to be honest ;)

I now currently shoot with 2 Nikon D3s bodies which are awesome in low light, excellent with focusing speed and incredible with dynamic range, so it means that I can recover a lot information from the dark or bright areas and this is extremely helpful for those of us who are shooting weddings, because sometimes you don’t have much time to get the perfect .

I also have a Fujifilm X100s for my personal use but I always bring it with me for weddings and I can use this camera without fear. This camera is just unbelievable for its size.

Lastly talking about camera bodies I have my favourite camera which is the last camera my Dad had. It’s a Film Yashica FX-3 Super 2000 with a Yashica 50mm f/1.4 lens.

Talking about my lenses, my favourite lens is the Nikon 24mm f/1.4G. It’s just incredible how sharp and fast it is and in low light it’s outstanding as you can use such low speed. It helps that you don’t need to pump up your ISO, so I can shoot with this lens at 1/30 without any shake in my photo. I had a Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 before and I found my self using that lens at 24mm most of the time, so there was no point for me to use a heavy zoom lens. Instead I changed to just a 24mm prime.

13 I also have the Nikon 35mm f/2 which I use very often and I love this lens for it size and focal range. I could shoot a full wedding with this small and cheap lens whiteout any problem .

My other lenses are the Nikon 45mm f/2.8 tilt-shift and this is my baby when I want to create something out of the human perspective. This lens makes your brain think that you are looking at a miniature because the way the focus is applied to the photo, so you can manipulate the focus from diagonal or whatever you wish. It’s just awesome, but be careful when using it, as the focus gets lost from where you really want it to be, so my advice is go out and practice a lot and use the to get a more accurate focus.

I still have my old Nikon 50mm f/1.4G and I love using this lens for getting ready shots.

My number one lens for portrait and details is the Nikon 85mm f/1.4G. The way you can isolate the subject from the background is incredible. Many people call this lens “the king of portrait lenses”. Also for low light use, this is the lens I always pick up for speeches and ceremonies, as I can stay far away from people and still catch unique moments without being noticed. I can also attach my Kenko extension tubes for ring details ;)

I would love to have a Nikon 135mm f/2 but I’m in no rush to buy one as I’m pretty happy with all I have and I might wait for the Nikon 135mm f/1.8 if Nikon releases it one day.

I use Sandisk CF card 32gb in the first slot of my Nikon D3s recording RAW and in the second slot I use a Sandisk CF card 8gb recording Medium JPEG just in case the card fails, so I have a backup at least in medium JPEG which is more than enough if something goes wrong.

14 As for flashes, I don’t like to use them during the wedding but when it comes to the couple portraits and first dance I use them a lot, especially during the first dance along with my PocketWizard Flex TT5 and PocketWizard Mini TT1 triggers.

I shoot all manual in the camera and for better control and I use priority with auto ISO when I need to be fast and don’t need flash at all. To have quick access to my flashes I use the Spider Camera Holster clip .

The air blower is just for quick dust removal. I get sensor cleaning and lens calibration for my gear once a year.

The Blackrapid RSD1BB Double Strap is the quickest way I have found to have two camera bodies with me without worrying that my cameras will fall down from my shoulders.

The LED Lenser Light is for adding a touch of light on my subjects and also for creative stuff.

Bruno Rosa’s Camera Gear

Cameras

Nikon D3s Fujifilm X100s

Lenses

Nikon 24mm f/1.4G Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8

15 Nikon 35mm f/2 Nikon 45mm f/2.8 tilt-shift Nikon 50mm f/1.4G Nikon 85mm f/1.4G

Other

Kenko extension tubes Sandisk CF card 32gb Sandisk CF card 8gb PocketWizard Flex TT5 PocketWizard Mini TT1

16 Section 4 TWO MANN

www.twomann.com

We have got way too much photography gear and it's a never-ending struggle for us to keep it organized. In fact, we've started bringing an assistant along whose sole purpose is to try to keep our gear in order.

17 We shoot with 4 Canon 5D Mark III's. In terms of lenses, we primarily use the Canon 35mm f/1.4 (which we each have) and the Canon 85mm f/1.2 (which we share).

Other than that, our most used equipment is our four Canon 600 EX-RT Speedlites with Magmods, basically like a little snoot to funnel the light. I’d say maybe 90% of our flash work has a modifier on it to shape the light.

We each use two Magmods with two transmitters (one each) so that we can trigger them off-camera. So we have one transmitter each and two flashes that we can be linked to either simultaneously or on separate channels.

We’ve learned with flash that it’s not so much where the light is that really makes it sing, it’s where the light isn’t. So controlling it to only illuminate what we want has been key to our work. That and gelling the flashes as well. 90% of the time it’s just a subtle warming gel but occasionally if the light’s really warm inside we’ll contrast it with a blue gel or something.

Most of the time we are balancing light to some degree but creatively we’ll push it to the extremes, maybe use an extremely warm gel on one flash and an extremely cool gel on another for opposing primary colours or something dramatic.

We also bring along a Canon 24mm f/1.4, a Canon 16-35mm f/2.8, (we use this on the dance floor and which I (Erika) use for the bride getting ready), a Canon 50mm f/1.2, a Canon 70-200mm f/2.8, a Canon 100mm f/2.8 Macro, and a Canon EF 8-15mm f/4L Fisheye (we use this on the dancefloor occasionally - people have to be very drunk to get that close!).

Although we don't use these lenses very often, we use them enough to justify keeping them in our gear bag.

18 Other useful items include our Manfrotto Nano-Clamps, so that we can attach our flashes to anything, a water bottle with some Vega Sports supplement to keep us hydrated, some snacks, and, of course, an extra pair of men's underwear, just in Lanny sharts himself. :)

Lanny & Erika Mann’s Camera Gear

Cameras

Canon 5D Mark III

Lenses

Canon 24mm f/1.4, Canon 16-35mm f/2.8, Canon 35mm f/1.4 Canon 50mm f/1.2, Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 Canon 85mm f/1.2. Canon 100mm f/2.8 Macro Canon EF 8-15mm f/4L Fisheye

Other

Canon 600 EX-RT (x4) Magmods. (x4) Manfrotto Nano-Clamps,

19 PocketWizard Flex TT5 PocketWizard Mini TT1

20 Section 5 JAMES DAY

www.daylight.com.au

Hey folks! My name is James Day and I’m from Australia! WOOHOO! I’m a wedding photographer from Australia… and live in a little beachside suburb called Woonona which is an hour south of Sydney. I’ve just turned 30…

21 which sounds really old to me... but I don’t feel old.

I’ve been photographing weddings for nearly 12 years now. It’s all I know! I started off shooting a bit of everything, but it didn’t take long to realise that wedding photography was the thing I wanted to do as a career.

I shoot primarily with a Fujifilm setup... but like to dabble in a bit of film as well.

I like to keep my kit quite light and simple, so I will happily take things out if I think it will hold me back. If I’m shooting solo and am anticipating a big day, I’ll take the film gear out of the kit before I fly out.

I’ve always placed more importance on the interaction that I have with the subject over the gear that I use, so the understated Fuji X-T1 suits me quite well.

2x Fujifilm X-T1 – I like this camera for a few reasons. Its focus is 100% accurate, it’s light, and the EVF is a game changer. Because the majority of weddings I shoot I have to fly to, I love having a kit that I can easily take on the plane and have with me at all times.

Fuji 10-24mm f/4 My favourite lens for the “epic shot”

Fuji 23mm f/1.4 35mm equivalent which just can’t be beat for photojournalistic images from a wedding.

22 Fuji 56mm f/1.2 85mm equivalent which I use for the portrait session. It’s compact, yet still delivers beautiful . This lens can’t be beaten.

Fuji 60mm f/2.4 macro To be honest I don’t really like this lens…It’s slow… and well.. I use it once a day… so I get by. I hear there’s a new macro lens coming, so i’ll be jumping on that :-)

Fuji 50-140mm f/2.8 70-200 equivalent and a great ceremony lens.

Nissin i40 flash x2 (only 1 featured) It’s a great little flash which is reliable and super easy to use.

Cheapo Ebay Yonguo RF-602 Triggers. Um, $20. Can’t say no.

Lucky Camera Straps People always comment on the camera straps and how much they love them. They’ll even custom deboss your name on them!

Custom Polaroid Camera from The Instant Camera Guy I use this when I have a bit of time up my sleeve to bring back some of the magic of photography for the client. Having them pull the print from the negative is quite a magic experience for everyone involved.

Fujifilm Instax Mini 90 – For a few snapshots throughout the day.

23 Fuji Instax Share SP-1 printer – to print out some images from the Fuji X-T1‘s wirelessly. Every photographer should have one of these. I can transfer images from the X-T1 directly to the printer… and it prints out onto the instax mini film. So cool.

Contax 645 with 80mm f/2.0 lens + Fuji Pro 400H film. I use this to remind me to slow down, take a few extra moments, compose and frame the image beautifully and then wait for the next 2 weeks while it’s at the lab to see how I did. I love shooting some film at a wedding as it’s an easy way to do a little extra for your client.

Bowtie from Forage – It’s an essential part of the kit! Little book just above the bowtie – little peel and stick album for the Instax Mini 90 images from Photo Mounts and Albums.

To the right of the book – Instax Mini Film.

Not featured: Batteries and Memory cards.

10x Sandisk Extreme Pro 280mb p/second version – 64GB I like the speed that they offer both in writing to the card, but also transferring to the computer. Batteries: I carry 14x batteries for the Fuji, however I tend to only use around 4-6 per day.

Here’s a video of me using all the gear mentioned above too.

24 James Day’s Camera Gear

Cameras

Fujifilm X-T1 Contax 645

Lenses

Fuji 10-24mm f/4 Fuji 23mm f/1.4 Fuji 56mm f/1.2 Fuji 60mm f/2.4 macro Fuji 50-140mm f/2.8 Contax 80mm f/2.0

Other

Nissin i40 flash (x2) Yonguo RF-602 Triggers Lucky Camera Straps Custom Polaroid Camera Fujifilm Instax Mini 90 Fuji Instax Share SP-1 printer Fuji Pro 400H film Bowtie from Forage

25 Instax Mini Film. 64GB Sandisk Extreme Pro 280mb/s

26 Section 6 FER JUARISTI

www.ferjuaristi.com

I picked up my first camera in high school. I asked my teacher if I could take it home for the weekend. He said yes. I took some (bad) pictures.

But that was also some of my best work. That was the work that helped me realize I wanted to live out of a camera for the rest of my life.

27 I wanted to make my camera a passport to other people’s lives. And needed my camera to mean total trust.

When I am living out of my camera, I need my clients to understand the kind of photographer they are getting. The husband, the father, the crazy guy who is treating their wedding as an experiment.

Fer Juaristi’s Camera Gear

Cameras

Nikon Df (x 2) Leica M6

Lenses

Sigma 35mm f/1.4 Sigma 85mm f/1.4

Other

LED light Nikon SB-700 (x2) Think Tank Photo Retrospective 30 bag Holdfast Money Maker Yongnuo RF-602 Triggers Langley Delta Bag Filson Harvey Backpac

28 Section 7 EMIN KULIYEV

www.em34.com

I got the first camera in my life when I was 30 years old. Before that day I never had any experience with any kind of photography. For the last 10 years I’ve been shooting only weddings and engagement sessions.

29 I think that equipment is very important but a photographer must imagine the whole scene of shooting in his mind before taking anything from his bag.

Before starting, I estimate what time I have to shoot, what the distance to my subject is and what time I have to play with different angles and lights.

I’m always trying to imagine my result before I press the shutter button – even if I shoot in a photojournalistic style without contact with my models, I estimate time, distance, light and the behaviour of people in particular situations.

I shoot a lot of pictures during the day (sometimes more than 10,000 during 12-14 hours). Most of them are out of focus or don’t have good composition and framing because usually I’m not looking through the viewfinder and shoot holding the camera over my head or from the floor.

I try to imagine the whole scene in my mind and go to wherever it is possible to catch people’s emotions or a good interesting source of light.

I like to use any source of light and any reflection which I can find around, and in addition, I bring some of my filters and other glass things (see above). I collect any piece of glass with an interesting reflection and use creative filters from Cokin.

I have two camera brands Nikon and Canon. My first camera was Canon and till 2008 I shot only Canon. Then, when the came out in 2008, I decided to try it. At that time, the Nikon D3 had a better ISO performance and so I decided to keep both brands.

Today I can notice the difference between these two brands – some cameras can focus in the dark better than others. For the last 6 years I know almost every single aspect about each brand. I know which will focus faster in which light condition, by combining one camera with another lens.

30 I have a few bags with my equipment and I bring everything to each wedding. For me lenses are like brushes for a painter. Depending on my mood and situation, I will shoot on manual focus with a Trioplan 100mm f/2.8 or on a Nikon 58mm f/1.4.

Every time I try to use a different lens because I want to give my mind some exercise, I don’t want to stick with some favorite focusing distance and angles but at the same time I use logic, if I don’t have time and space I will use a flashlight with a zoom lens like 16-35mm or 24-70mm but when a have a chance to switch my lenses I will do it.

I feel like I’m painting with a light. I can shoot the whole event with one or two lenses, without any inconvenience because I know how to manage my time and space.

Emin Kuliyev’s Camera Gear

Cameras

Nikon D3s Nikon D4 Nikon D800E Canon 1DX Canon 5D Mark III Canon 5D (converted to Infrared) NEX 5N with Canon tilt adapter.

Lenses

31 Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8 Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 Nikon 24mm f/1.4 Nikon 58mm f/1.4 Nikon 85mm f/1.4 Nikon 70-200mm VR2 f/2.8 Canon 8-15mm f/4 Canon 16-35mm f/2.8 Canon 24mm f/1.4 Canon 35mm f/1.4 Canon 50mm f/1.2 Canon 85mm f/1.2 Canon 100mm f/2.8 Canon 135mm f/2 Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 Canon 50mm f/2.5 macro Sigma 14mm f/2.8 Sigma 20mm f/1.8 Sigma 24mm f/1.8 Sigma 28mm f/1.8 Sigma 35mm f/1.4 Lensbaby LBO35 Sweet 35 Lensbaby Double Glass Optic Lensbaby Edge 80 Optic Lensbaby Macro Converters Trioplan 100mm f/2.8 Primoplan 58mm f/1.8

32 Olympus Zuiko 55mm f/1.2 Zeiss 50mm f/1.4 Helios 44-2 58mm f/2

Other

Benro Carbon Fiber Monopod LED Lenser Torches LED Light panel Yongnuo RF-602 Triggers

33 Section 8 DAN O’DAY

www.danodayphotography.com.au

Oh hey guys, it’s me, Dan. I’m a wedding photographer based out of Australia. I’m just stopping by to have a little chat about what’s in my camera bag (disclaimer: mostly just speaking about my wedding set up, here).

My story is short. I started out in paint. I come from a family of artists and I always wanted to be a successful exhibiting painter. In 2006 I decided to try photography and had my first gallery show of fine art photography (which went surprisingly well) and I’ve been hooked on stills ever since then.

34 I shot my first wedding in 2007 (while still working 9-5 for The Man) then 2 years later in 2009, I walked out of my 9-5 job to go full-time with my wedding photography and it kind of went crazy from there.

Still, I can’t believe the journey photography has taken me on. I get to travel all over this massive planet shooting weddings and speaking at fun conferences. I also get to see so much of my own country. It’s really big (in fact, it’s the same size as the USA – we just have no one in the middle).

Having said all that, I get tired. I love my job and I am extremely grateful that I get to do what I do for a living. In the next couple of years I am starting to wind travel down so I can get to spend more time at home with my family and my new little dog Jessie (she is 7 years old and has droopy boobs and we love her).

When shooting a wedding I try to keep my set up really simple. I find that the more toys to play around with takes time away from the thing I am most interested in documenting: the people. I generally roll with 2 DSLR bodies, 2 lenses (Canon 50mm f/1.2L / Canon 24mm f/1.4L) and a Pelican case full of cards in my pocket. I have other gear there on the day just in case but that’s pretty much it.

I’ll bust out the Phase One from the back-pack on location if time (and loco) permits.

In a nutshell, I think that’s pretty much me and a bit on my set-up.

So let’s get going with details:

2x Canon 5D Mark iii DSLRs – I shoot with two on a wedding day to keep my most active two lenses around (50mm and 24 mm) and swap to the occasional 35mm or 85mm at a moments notice if need be.

35 Canon 50mm f/1.2 Lens – Classic, good for lots of stuff. I use it for mostly family formals and any other portraits.

Canon 24mm f/1.4 Lens – My fave lens. I might shoot 80% of the day with this little fella. I enjoy the amount of story I can fit into one frame.

Canon 85mm f/1.2 Lens – Love this piece of machinery for some dreamy portraits and some speech-y moments.

Canon 35mm f/1.4 Lens – Don’t use it as often lately, but it’s still a great ole’ faithful to have around.

Phase One IQ250 Digital System – It’s insane – The detail and dynamic range are absolutely amazing. I’ve been implementing this Phase One system more and more lately with my wedding work and I find that it’s the hero of hero shot tools.

Phase One 80mm f/2.8 and 28mm f/4.5 Lenses – Well, I need the lenses to go on the Phase Camera, because otherwise… well you know - no picture.

Memory Cards – I like to work on 16gb memory cards (anything larger gives me anxiety for the ability it may have to lose too much if it punks out), and I carry around about 3 waterproof Pelican cases with those in them, on the day. I also have 128 GB SD cards in the camera bodies recording JPEG versions of every RAW file I shoot, just as an emergency backup plan.

Batteries – I’m a nervous nancy when it comes to preparedness for a wedding day, so I always go a bit overboard. I’ve included only 4 in this photo but I have about 8 batteries around in my bag, ready to rock (You know, for all those 22 hour gigs that never come around… I’m totally ready).

36 Canon 580 EX Speedlites – I carry two of these for a wedding day and use them a fair amount when the dance floor gets fired up.

Fujifilm X100 – I love this camera. I use it mostly for travel and I’ve produced some of my fine art prints with this tiny power tool. It’s compact, efficient, and -bonus- pretty nifty looking. I like to take it with me wherever I go, just cause… you never know.

Fujifilm X-PRO1 – Same thing for this Fuji legend. It produces such great images and it’s a trusty companion of mine for overseas travel and capturing great images from such a small device – unlike the Fujifilm X100 it has lens changing capability.

I’ve been lugging all this stuff around all on my (tired) shoulders and in a Lowepro Rover AW II backpack. It’s amazing how well it can actually fit into one case. This bag has been with me for 4 gigantic years and it’s still going strong. It’s also great as it just looks like a normal back pack and so doesn’t draw much attention at check-in (for weighing) or customs (for explaining) during travel.

Dan O’Day’s Camera Gear

Cameras

Phase One IQ250 Canon 5D Mark iii Fujifilm X100 Fujifilm X-PRO1

Lenses

37 Canon 24mm f/1.4 Canon 35mm f/1.4 Canon 50mm f/1.2 Canon 85mm f/1.2 Phase One 80mm f/2.8 Phase One 28mm f/4.5

Other

Canon 580 EX Pelican cases Lowepro Rover AW II

38 Section 9 CITLALLI RICO

www.citlallirico.com

I’m from Cancun, Riviera Maya, Mexico. I’ve been shooting weddings for 8 years and I like to keep my gear very light and simple so I can move around easily.

I bought, tried, rented and borrowed tons of equipment during my first 2 years as a photographer. I finally decided to minimize all the weight and focus on making the

39 best pictures possible with basic tools instead of worrying about techincal or heavy stuff.

My sister Tamara shoots with me. She carries one camera body, one lens and 2 flashes (not in the picture).

My bag only has my two camera bodies () and two lenses, (one Nikon 35mm f/2 and one Nikon 105mm f/2.8 micro). I like to keep it simple so I only use those two lenses.

I feel like anything that delays me from capturing a moment is not good for my photography, so I don’t waste time switching lenses, removing lens caps or setting up tons of flashes and transmitters.

A 35mm f/2 is my main lens. I shoot 80% of the pictures with it. It’s a wonderful and affordable wide lens and it’s very small and light. As I normally shoot with medium the Nikon 35mm f/2 is perfect for me. Very little distortion. I simply love it.

The Nikon 105mm f/2.8 micro lens is mainly for portraits and details. I love how sharp it is and being macro it helps make a great detail of shots. Great for daylight conditions. My flash (Nikon SB-800) is only to trigger off camera flashes. I’m not a fan of radios or transmitters and I’m also not a fan of on-camera flash either so I always have external flashes on tripods or monopods.

I carry a bunch of 16gb Sandisk cards as I shoot in raw. I also have batteries and my Wonderwoman business card holder. The Mexican Giraffe just came by looking for some food.

40

Citlalli Rico’s Camera Gear

Cameras

Nikon D700

Lenses

Nikon 35mm f/2 Nikon 105mm f/2.8 micro

Other

Nikon SB-800 16gb Sandisk cards

Interview with Citlalli Rico.

41 Section 10 BEN SASSO

www.bensasso.com

Hello! My name is Ben Sasso and I am a photographer and educator based in LA. I am also a huge believer in fostering a stronger photo community so let’s share a virtual high-five and move forward together!

42 Like most photographers, I started out basic. Basic and cheap. My first year (as a hobby) found me shooting with Canon Rebel (film) and a kit lens. Since then I have upgraded to a pair of Canon 5d Mark III’s (I have two so I don’t have to waste time switching lenses on set or at weddings), and a few lenses that I would feel lost without.

Case: Pelican 1514 Case – Crush proof, waterproof, carry on size, and fits everything I need!

Bodies:

2 Canon 5D Mark III’s

Lenses:

Canon 20mm f/2.8 – This one has been in my case for a bit but it will see the sunlight when I need to create an image with a bit more dynamic energy.

Canon 35mm f/1.4L – I LOVE this lens. I shoot just about 70% of my wedding and lifestyle work with this. It allows me to create energetic candid images without the over distorted look that I might get with a wider lens.

Canon 50mm f/1.2L – This is my go to lens for intimate and peaceful portraits because it doesn’t create any dynamic angles like my 20mm or 35mm L, and it creates a beautiful separation between my subject and everything else in the frame.

Canon 85mm f/1.2L II – At most weddings, I have my Canon 35mm f/1.4L on one camera and this lens on the other. Those two focal lengths get me through almost anything I have to cover on a wedding day.

43 Canon 200mm f/2.0L - This lens spends most of its time in the case but I bring it out every now and then for larger weddings or video work.

Straps:

HoldFast MoneyMaker – This thing is a lifesaver. It carries my two cameras and doesn’t leave my back in pieces when I get home.

Flashes:

2 Canon 430EX ‘s

Storage:

Nexto DI 500GB Hard Drive – This copies all of my memory cards and and goes in my pocket before I leave a set or a wedding. I’m a crazy person when it comes to backing up my work and this little device makes that crazy side feel a bit more comfortable.

LowePro memory card case – Carries my cards on my belt.

Ellie the cat – She is training to be my assistant but typically stays home to make sure that the house stays safe while I’m gone.

Ben Sasso’s Camera Gear

Cameras

Canon 5D Mark III

Lenses

44 Canon 20mm f/2.8 Canon 35mm f/1.4L Canon 50mm f/1.2L Canon 85mm f/1.2L Canon 200mm f/2.0L

Other

HoldFast MoneyMaker Canon 430EX x2 Nexto DI 500GB Hard Drive LowePro memory card case

Interview with Ben Sasso

45 Section 11 SCOTT KELBY

www.scottkelby.com

I actually use three different load-outs for the three different types of photography I do on a regular basis:

Sports Photography (2) Portraits and (3) Travel.

46 Luckily, there’s a lot of overlap between the three, thanks to the fact that sports photography requires just a whole bunch of gear and once you have all that it helps with your other types of shoots as well.

We’ll start with sports photography.

(1) Sports Photography Loadout

When you’re shooting a fast-moving sport, most of the time you don’t have time to switch lenses so you switch camera bodies instead. Most of the shooters I run into an event are using at least two if not three bodies. I’m a two-body guy myself, and so I use two Canon 1Dx bodies.

These puppies were made for shooting sports and they are, hands down, the best I’ve ever used. They crank off 12-frames per second and I can shoot a night game or indoor game with those at up to 4,000 ISO (sometimes higher) and you don’t really see the noise, so they’re pretty amazing.

I do a lot of remote camera work for NFL games, so sometimes I need a third (or fourth) body, so I add my Canon 5D Mark III for those instances as well. They’re not pictured here (because I usually carry my remote stuff in a rolling Pelican case), but I use two f-plates (floor mounted stands) with Really Right Stuff ballheads on top and then each gets a PocketWizard Plus III wireless transmitter so I can fire them remotely.

47 For Lenses, I have to use really long glass (the photographer who gets tightest in, wins), so my go-to lenses are my Canon 400mm f/2.8 or my Canon 200-400mm f/4 zoom with a built-in 1.4 tele-extender.

I use the Canon 400mm f/2.8 for night games because that extra stop of light makes a big difference in how low I can keep my ISO - even though it shoots amazingly well at high ISO, the images look even better if you don’t have to shoot at a high ISO, and on an NFL field, the difference between an f/2.8 lens and an f/4 is literally this: I can shoot at 1,600 ISO in a well-lit stadium at f/2.8. If I have to go to f/4, then I’m at 4,000 ISO. That’s a pretty big difference.

So, for day games I often use the Canon 200-400mm f/4 (if I turn on the 1.4 tele, it makes my lowest wide-open f/stop f/5.6 which is too high for a night or indoor game).

So, on game day, one of those two lenses is on my main body. I support my main lens using a nice thick Gitzo GM5541 6X Carbon Fiber Monopod, which I got as a gift from Gitzo after Green Bay Quarterback Aaron Rogers broke mine (while crashing into me) during the NFC Championship game in Chicago a few years ago (here’s the link to the full story and behind-the-scenes shots.)

On my second body I generally use the Canon 70-200 mm f/2.8. It's crazy sharp and any time the team is inside the 20-yard line it's a perfect go to lens. The other two lenses, my Canon 8-15mm f/4 fisheye and my Canon 16-35mm f/2.8 are mostly

48 used on my remote camera for the player intros (as they take the field through a wall of smoke and pyrotechnics).

I carry around my 2nd camera body and Canon 70-200 mm f/2.8 using a Black Rapid RS-7 Strap which goes across your body which is great because it’s faster to bring the camera to your eye, and it doesn’t fall off your shoulder as you’re running up and down the sidelines.

I also use that Hoodman Loupe so I can see the LCD screen during day games (it’s so bright out there you can’t see much, and I have to tag the best images while I’m out there on the field, so I can upload them quickly to the sports wire at halftime and immediately after the game).

(2) Portrait Photography Loadout

I have my own studio and I probably shoot the most in there, but I also do a lot of location work which is why you see the two Canon speed lights. I have a ton of accessories for them (everything from grids to gels to snoots and diffusers, etc. but I didn’t want to junk up the picture of my gear with all that stuff so we left it out).

My go-to lens for my portrait work is definitely my Canon 70-200 mm f/2.8 and I usually out between 150mm to 200mm because I think the compression and perspective is much more flattering to my subjects. Plus, it gives them a little breathing room.

49 I also have an Canon 85mm f/1.2 lens that I generally only use for location work (for outdoor portraits or bridal shoots) and I have a Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 that honestly, we mostly use for behind-the-scenes and production shots. I not a big fan of the 24-70mm focal range. I like the 24mm, I hate the 70mm part, but I don’t like either for portraits. The distortion is just not very flattering.

I know Joe McNally uses the 24-70mm very successfully, but it’s like I'm reminded every time I do a shoot — I’m not Joe McNally. That guy is a magical unicorn and I don’t think they’ve made a lens he can’t coax an amazing photo out of, but so far, the Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 has been my nemesis so I just use it for production shots for the most part.

As for bodies, I’ll either take the Canon 5D Mark III (my most likely choice) or the Canon 1Dx if we’re shooting late in the day or at night, so I get the advantage of little better high ISO performance, but honestly the Canon 5D Mark III is pretty darn good.

(3) Travel Photography Loadout

I’ve done travel rolling “big,” taking two bags of rolling gear, and I’ve done it really simple and lightweight, and simple and lightweight wins every time — I literally take one body (the Canon 5D Mark III) and one lens (which as I write this, I realize that it’s not in the photo) my Tamron 28-300mm f/3.5 - f/5.6. It’s one lens that does it all. It’s not going to win any awards for sharpness (it’s only nearly as sharp, for example, as the Nikon 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6 which is awesomely sharp), but it’s so

50 much lighter, smaller and less expensive than the Canon version (which if you ask me is not made for travel on any level) - I had to go with it.

I use the Black Rapid RSD-1BB for walking around (for safety - since it’s strapped across your body - it's not easy to snatch it and grab it. In fact, it’s about impossible, because if you grab it and start running off, I’m going with it. Very slowly I might add. LOL!). Plus, it’s ready to shoot in a moments notice since it sits at your side like your camera is in a holster - you just pick it up and shoot - no taking it off your shoulder first.

I also usually take the Hoodman Loupe so I can see when shooting travel outdoors. That’s it. A simple set-up: one body, one lens, a camera strap and some Lexar Compact Flash Cards (and an SD card for backups as I shoot).

So, there you have my three basic loadouts. Sadly, (especially for my full-time assistant, Brad Moore) I have a bunch more gear, including more bodies, lenses, studio lighting, accessories, but I just wanted to share my main daily-use stuff here.

Scott Kelby’s Camera Gear

Cameras

Canon 5D Mark III Canon 1Dx

51 Canon 7d Mark II Canon 70d

Lenses

Canon 8-15mm f/4L fisheye Canon 11-24mm f/4L Canon 14mm f/2.8L II Canon 16-35mm f/2.8 Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 II Canon 24-105mm f/4L Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II Canon 300mm f/2.8L IS II USM Canon 200-400mm f/4L Canon 400mm f/2.8L Canon 1.4x EF III Teleconverter

Other

Really Right Stuff “L” Brackets Black Rapid RS-7 Strap UpStrap Quick Release Camera Strap 3.2” Hoodman Compact HoodLoupe ThinkTank Hydrophobia 70-200 ThinkTank Hydrophobia 300-600 Op/Tech RainSleeve TetherTools JerkStopper Camera Support

52 Section 12 SAM HURD

www.samhurdphotography.com

In my career I’ve been very lucky to have opportunity to photograph not only well known individuals, but the most fun and creative wedding couples I could ask for.

Balancing 45 weddings and upwards of 120 press events a year has dragged me through more photography equipment than I care to admit.

I own Nikon, Canon, Leica, and Sony brands and used them all extensively, but the only mainstay in my bag is the Nikon D750.

53 Though I have a lot to choose from I always travel light on the day of a shoot so I’m able to think with my feet and not with my gear.

The Think Tank Turnstyle 20 bag I use has been my long time favorite because of it’s small footprint and deep pockets. My go-to lenses are the Nikon 58mm f/1.4, Nikon 24mm f/1.4, and broken Nikon 50mm f/1.8 – which I use for freelensing. The camera I use is the excellent Nikon D750. My backup is a Nikon D4 and a Sony a7r. The Litepanels croma, LED video light is perfect for shooting at night and charging AA batteries.

I love finding small objects like a convex lens or prism to create interesting foreground artifacts in my portraits, and I find the unique looks they make connects me with more artistic minded clients.

Sam Hurd’s Camera Gear

Cameras

Nikon D750 Nikon D4 Sony a7r

Lenses

Nikon 58mm f/1.4 Nikon 24mm f/1.4 Nikon 45mm Tilt Shift Nikon 50mm f/1.8D

54 Other

Visible Dust Sensor Cleaner Mini-tripod Litepanels croma Convex lens Think Tank Turnstyle 20

Interview with Sam Hurd

55 Section 13 RYAN BRENIZER

www.ryanbrenizer.com

If random people think of me at all, they generally think: “hey, doesn’t he have a Method or something?” But I look elsewhere when defining my career: to the trail of worn-out shoes and camera gear ground into a fine powder left behind me.

I started shooting here and there back in the days when film cameras were just called cameras, and learned the basics on my father’s rock-sold Minolta SRT-101b. But I started working as a photojournalist right at the cusp of a new era.

56 I photographed President Clinton and the first family with film gear marveling at the giant lenses of the wire shooters, but the images that helped win our paper a statewide photojournalism award came from a digital Sony Mavica, shooting 640×480 to a floppy disk. Not only did it allow for instant turnaround, but the non-threatening camera combined with chutzpah allowed me much better access to political events than the penned-in agency shooters. A few months later I got the bleeding-edge technology of a in my hands, and the rest was… obsession.

Two more presidents and many, many cameras later, I have found myself consumed with a new passion: the crazy, wonderful, multifaceted world of weddings. I started dabbling in them in 2007, and by 2009 they were my life — that year I shot 65 weddings and at least as many engagement shoots. And, to everyone’s surprise, I’ve kept up that pace for the past five years.

So by the time this even gets published, I’ll probably have broken or lost some of this gear and had it replaced by others — for example the and Nikon D750 have come into my mix very recently as I try to make my setup smaller and more nimble, and the Sigma 85mm f/1.4 in the photos has been replaced by my third Nikon 85mm f/1.4G AF-S. But this is a good snapshot of my thinking at any given time.

Engagement shoots do not have nearly the variety of subject or scene that weddings do, so one of the things I try to do to keep it fresh is to bring different equipment almost every time I shoot. A long, fast telephoto is a must for portraits (and, yes, the Brenizer method), and I generally want something to capture general action and more candid-feeling shots, in this case the high-bang-for-the-buck Nikon 28mm f/1.8.

57 Then I have the “trick lenses,” which change every time. But I do like using the Sigma 12-24mm f/4.5-5.6, just because it’s so hard to use right for portraits that it has a striking, alien quality. TheNikon 45mm PC-E is another “what the heck?” lens, and I try to use it in ways that can’t be replicated in software, often thinking in multiple focal planes. Sometimes I won’t bring one of these, and sometimes I’ll bring lighting. It all depends on the situation of the shoot. But I always want to be able to throw it in a small backpack, especially since I usually ride a bike to engagement shoots.

With weddings, however, we pack with military precision, and only some variables around the edges. Backups are crucial, so between me and my 2nd shooter we generally have at least four cameras on hand. The Nikon D4 is an unbelievable workhorse and with the the best camera I’ve ever used, but I also have shot as long as 56 hours in a single weekend this year (do the math on that one) so we’re toying with the lighter and Nikon D750 now.

The Sigma 12-24mm f/4.5-5.6, Nikon 28mm f/1.8, Nikon 45mm f/2.8 Tilt Shift and Nikon 85mm f/1.4 are joined by the Sigma 50mm f/1.4 Art (which is incredibly amazing even at f/1.4, but brings us back to that “heavy” thing), and the Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8, an absolutely workhorse.

Canon tilt-shifts have more versatility in their basic functionality, but the great thing about the Nikon is it also works as a 1:2 macro lens, good enough for rings and fine details and saving us a packing slot.

Other than cameras, the most useful tool we have on wedding days is the iPhone (already replaced by the iPhone 6 Plus; told you I go through gear fast). I share all of the details of the day with my 2nd shooters through Quip, and so we both have quick and easy access to things like the schedule and list of friends-and-family photos, as well as functioning as a quick, silent walkie talkie. Other apps like the

58 Dark Sky weather app have saved the day at many weddings, so I try not to worry about whether guests are thinking I’m playing Angry Birds or something, usually allayed by how busy I always look and how publicly I say things like “Look! No rain for 40 minutes, let’s get it done!”

We bring the 15-inch retina Macbook Pro for on-site backup, and my 2nd helps put together a day-of slideshow for the end of the wedding. Often people are having too much fun to even look at these, and that’s fine with me — the important thing is that we’ve created a preview that can go online within a few days of the wedding, while guests are still hungry for them.

The Holdfast Money Maker has been the best camera-holding system I’ve used so far, though I do have to get used to the fact that when I get *really* low for a shot, my cameras are going to bang against the ground. It happens. The Switronix TorchLED is powerful, versatile, and relatively cheap, and I vastly prefer it to some of the more-expensive, somewhat gimmicky video lights out there. In low enough light, it can even pair with our LumiQuest SoftBox LTp, though we mainly pair that with our radio-controlled Phottix Mitros+ flashes (which we love, though we still have eight Nikon flashes in our equipment closet just in case).

Lastly we need hydration and sustenance on these long days, so we bring a few granola bars and water flavoring for the long haul. Breath mints are surprisingly handy when you have to talk to strangers at events that primarily serve coffee and seafood, and my hearing has been saved by cheap-and-powerful Etymotic earplugs. I can have a conversation with them on but also stand right in front of a booming DJ speaker, usually the only open spot in a crowded dance floor, and be OK.

59 All of this is joined by a LOT more equipment in my gear closet, and that I share with my girlfriend Tatiana Breslow, wedding photography’s biggest secret weapon. Between us, for example, we have at least 15 speedlights.

All of this goes in the Thinktank Airport Navigator bag, which amazingly can fit under the seat in front of you in an airplane, if you find yourself on a puddle-jumper with inadequate overhead storage space. It also has a very strong handle and large, smooth roller wheels, and has made my hear-toting life a lot easier this year.

Ryan Brenizer’s Camera Gear

Cameras

Nikon D4 (x2) Nikon D750 Nikon D810

Lenses

Sigma 12-24mm f/4.5-5.6 Nikon 28mm f/1.8 Nikon 45mm f/2.8 PC-E Sigma 50mm f/1.4 Art Nikon 85mm f/1.4 Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 VR II

Other

60 15” Retina Macbook Pro iPhone 6+ Switronix TorchLED Holdfast Moneymaker Etymotic ER20 earplugs LumiQuest SoftBox LTp Phottix Mitrox+ flashes (x3) Thinktank Airport Navigator

61 Section 14 DAVINA + DANIEL

www.davinaplusdaniel.com

Davina and I travel year-round for all of our weddings, so keeping our gear simple and compact is of utmost importance. Everything we need packs into a Think Tank Airport International V2.0 and a Think Tank Airport International suitcase, both of which are allowed as carry-on every airline (provided it’s not a tiny plane).

62 We shoot with two Nikon D4 bodies, each equipped with a Nikon 35mm f/2 and Nikon 85mm f/1.8 lens. We also share a Nikon 28mm f/2.8 lens, a Nikon 60mm f/ 2.8 macro lens, and a Sigma 150mm f/2.8 macro lens. The 35/85 combo gives us the perfect balance we need to cover most situations, while the other shared lenses add some variety at specific times of the day. We have always shot with fixed lenses, as they are general smaller in size, lighter, and force us to move our feet and think before we take a shot.

Though most of our photos are taken with ambient light (which the Nikon D4 does very happily up into the 10,000 ISO range), weddings don’t always give us the perfect lighting situation. When it comes to shooting the dance floor with flash, we keep it really simple, usually bouncing an on-camera Nikon SB-900 off the ceiling or wall, or using the little flip card if we’re in an outdoor reception setting. We also have a couple of Nikon SB-800 equipped with a Radio Popper system, for off- camera use.

But our favourite lighting tool is the Switronix Torch LED light. It has two temperature controls, allowing full colour control (2800K to 5500K), as well as power output. At full power, it’s bright enough to shoot at sunset. On a dimmer setting, it will easily last us all night even though we will usually use it profusely during speeches and first dances. We also carry two Gorilla pods with us, which are perfect for mounting the video light (or off-camera flashes) on any surface or hanging from poles and balconies.

The gear shouldn’t be the be-all and end-all when it comes to taking great photos, but having a complete system that works well for our needs is definitely a wonderful thing!

Outside of weddings, my passion is documenting life in different parts of the world.

63 The gear: Simple. So simple. Fujifilm X-T1 with the Fujifilm 23mm f/1.4 lens.

I’ll admit that I just got this camera a couple weeks ago (at time of publication), therefore my travel photos to date have been taken with a mix of the Nikon D4 and the Fujifilm X100s. Not to take anything away from the incredible Nikon D4, I have always felt a strong emotional connection with the Fujifilm X100s. The little bit of hesitation and lag always gave me a rush, just a little bit of uncertainty about whether I got the shot or not.

However, the size and feel are what I truly loved about the Fujifilm X100s (and now the Fujifilm X-T1). For me, travel photography is about the culture and the people, and I always want to create a quick connection with my subjects. Having a small camera makes me feel like I’m not too intense or too intimidating, and allows me to approach people more easily.

The Fujifilm X-T1 was an obvious next step for me, as it preserved everything that I liked about the Fujifilm X100s, while improving greatly on the focusing, low-light capabilities, while giving me the possibility to add lenses in the future. The 35mm focal length (23mm on Fujifilm’s crop sensor) is my go-to – I just love the photojournalistic feel of it. The Fujifilm 56mm f/1.2 (85mm equivalent) is on its way, and will provide the variety I need for a perfect set on the road. I think I will be happy with this setup for many years to come.

Davina & Daniel’s Camera Gear

Cameras

64 Nikon D4 Fujifilm X-T1 Fujifilm X100s

Lenses

Nikon 28mm f/2.8 Nikon 35mm f/2 Nikon 60mm f/2.8 macro Nikon 85mm f/1.8 Sigma 150mm f/2.8 Fujifilm 23mm f/1.4 Fujifilm 56mm f/1.2

Other

Nikon SB-900 Nikon SB-800 Radio Popper JR2 Switronix Torch LED light Think Tank Airport International V2.0 Think Tank Airport International

65 Section 15 GMB AKASH

www.gmb-akash.com

My passion for photography began in 1996 with my father’s old camera. An old camera, the Yasica FX3 was a vessel to reach to my dreams. To discover a road that was unseen to me.

As a young man I became fascinated with the interpersonal relationships I was able to develop with my subjects through the lens of my camera.

66 Growing up in a developing country filled with millions of impoverished people I had access to the darkest corners of the world for which I was passionate. I started documenting sufferings and found beauty in ugliness, happiness in despair, dreams in suffocation. I am a photojournalist; also I do travel photography and have a special affection for street photography. To put it simple, I am just a poor story teller, who has nothing but a suitcase full of photo tales.

In my eighteen year photography journey, Canon remains my trusted companion. But my first professional camera was a Nikon F90x. Then I have my Canon EOS 1 V and then a Canon 5D. After some years the Canon 5D Mark II was my magic camera for around five years.

Recently I started shooting with a Canon 5D Mark III. This latest camera is very fast. I can shoot in low light without any noise. It is very friendly but strong. As a colour photographer I am fully satisfied with this latest version.

I have to travel a lot so it is essential to carry all important things with me all the time. But I love to make it light. I do not use typical camera bags. I love to carry light school bag type camera bags. I spend a long time with my subjects and never want to be an alien to them with a huge bag pack.

My camera bag essentials are: Canon 5D Mark III camera, Canon 5D mark II camera, Canon 35mm f/1.4 lens, Canon 24mm f/1.4 lens, Canon 16-35mm f/2.8 Mark II lens, Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 mark II lens and a small Swiss knife.

I also use a sound recorder – I love to record sound from different locations, a lens cleaning pen, a note book and pen – I love to collect information and write stories for my blog, my national and international press cards, a bunch of CF cards/ memory cards, 3 camera batteries, a torch light, my spare glasses.

67 I have to walk a lot, so I wear a great pair of shoes. I wear a strong belt because sometimes I work on the roof of trains and my assistant has to hold my belt from the back during shooting to avoid an accident.

I carry a nice cap to protect myself from the harsh sun, and also wear a watch – my favorite accessories. For refreshing my mind I am used to listening to music during breaks, so I carry an 8gb iPod with me.

I use two f/1.4 lenses most of the time. The Canon 35mm f/1.4 and the Canon 24mm f/1.4 are my favorites as I can work in really low light. Most of the time I work inside in low light areas and I never use any flashes.

Lastly, the first question all beginners ask me is about my camera. I say that the camera is the medium, but the core is our eyes. It is our third eye that will capture the image and the camera will only convey it.

Do not become a camera-junkie with many big varieties. All cameras will be backdated but your eyes will remain incomparable.

GMB Akash’s Camera Gear

Cameras

Canon 5D mark II Canon 5D Mark III

Lenses

68 Canon 16-35mm f/2.8 Mark II Canon 24mm f/1.4 Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 mark II Canon 35mm f/1.4

Other

Sandisk Extreme Pro 16gb Memory Cards

69 Section 16 THE UPPERMOST

www.theuppermost.com

We are Sigit and Tito, best friends who turned into a business. We started the brand THE UPPERMOST together in 2007 in Jakarta, Indonesia, the name that represents a vision that we have committed to never stop learning.

70 We have been shooting weddings exclusively since 2009. We named our style ‘moment in beauty’ – we blend those two words that define the majority of our work.

Jeff joined us two years ago and now there are three main photographers at THE UPPERMOST. We always shoot with two photographers with one assistant who helps us carry gear and also becomes our lighting assistance.

From the day we started THE UPPERMOST, we’ve always shot with Nikon, but that’s not to say it’s better or worse then any other brand. We just randomly started with a and suddenly fell in love and felt comfortable with it. Then we periodically upgraded to a Nikon D80, a Nikon D90, Nikon and a D7000. Now Sigit shoots with two Nikon D700’s and Tito shoots with a Nikon D700 and a Nikon D600.

We also have back up cameras – another Nikon D700 and a Nikon D7000. Each of us always shoots with two cameras and each of us has four prime lenses: Nikon 24mm f/2.8D, Nikon 35mm f/2D,Nikon 50mm f/1.8D and Nikon 85mm f/1.8D.

The Nikon 35mm f/2D is for sure our favorite lens that we use on the day of a wedding, combined with the Nikon 50mm f/1.8D or the Nikon 85mm f/1.8D, depending on the size of the room. We also have another lens, the Nikon 135mm f/ 2 DC and the Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8D lens if we need a longer range and also a Nikon 60mm f/2.8D Micro for ring shots and other details.

As weddings offer so many unique lighting challenges, we have six flash lights – three Nikon SB-600‘s and three Nikon SB-900 ‘s combined with some Wireless TTL Trigger King Pro series. These wireless triggers are easy to setup and fit with our needs.

71 Sure we love natural light, but sometimes using flash light creates more dramatic images, and this really helps us to save the day.

We also have some random LED lights. Sometimes we combine them with the flash light, while getting ready, during portraits or during reception. One other new addition to the gear is the Magmod – we love it!

We hold our cameras with Holdfast Money Maker straps. We can say this strap really caught our eyes since it was released and we are even happier with it after having used it for almost a year. We try so many straps and the Holdfast Money Maker combines a great look with great comfort on our shoulders.

We put our lenses, flashes and other stuff in a Shootsac lens bag, a small and flexible lens pouch with six pockets, versatile and lightweight.

Fourteen hours minimum with one thousand guests is a standard wedding in our home country, so we need the right tools to help us survive until the last second.

The Uppermost’s Camera Gear

Cameras

Nikon D700 Nikon D600 Nikon D7000

Lenses

72 Nikon 24mm f/2.8D Nikon 35mm f/2D Nikon 50mm f/1.8D Nikon 60mm f/2.8D Micro Nikon 85mm f/1.8D Nikon 135mm f/2 Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8D

Other

Nikon SB-900 Pixel Wireless TTL Trigger King Pro Magmod Holdfast Money Maker Shootsac lens bag ACCURA Hunter 500 LightStand Phottix Portable Light Stand Phottix Gear Bag Crumpler Pretty Boy Backpack Sandisk Extreme Pro 16gb Memory Cards

73 Section 17 SEAN FLANIGAN

www.seanflanigan.net

Hello, I’m Sean Flanigan and I’m a wedding photographer from Tacoma, Washington. I’m 33 years old. A husband and a dad.

74 Not many things in my life have felt natural. In school, I was restless, uninspired, & bored. For as long as I can remember, I craved a creative outlet.

I finally discovered something I was passionate about when I started playing music as a teenager. Playing music was natural to me and I pursued that in my late teens and early twenties. I really believed music was going to be my career after we were picked up by a record label.

I left high school to go on tour and never looked back. When the record label decided to not opt for a sophomore record, my dreams of being a rockstar dissolved, and thus, rocketed me into the world of photography, where I ultimately hit my stride.

At 21 years old I didn’t have my high school diploma or a clue what I was going to do with my life, so I decided to do what everyone else does - go to college. For the first time in my life I was conforming, and it didn’t feel good. In the midst of a full time college load and pulling coffee shots for business people, I found photography and picked up a camera again for the first time since my junior year of high school.

I finished up my AA degree in a year and went off to art school in Seattle, with a focus on commercial photography. I excelled so fast in photography because I was devouring any info on the subject I could find.

Three things stand out from my experience at the Art Institute: 01. I don’t like commercial photography. 02. I love portrait and documentary photography. 03.

75 When you think you’re close enough to your subject, take one giant step closer.

I took my love for portrait and documentary photography and started pursuing photojournalism while I was in my last year of college. I was interning at local papers with the rare paid assignment here and there. I eventually went on to work for major American news outlets like the Wall Street Journal and having photos published in the Huffington Post.

I quickly found out that I thrive on my own ambition and when my heart isn’t in something, I will produce a mediocre product. I found myself doing this in my photojournalism assignments and turned down a full time staff job at a Seattle based newspaper to pursue what I had being doing all along; weddings.

Wedding photography comes easy to me. I love it. I love the importance of what I do as a wedding photographer and I love that I am free to be creative without boundaries. Most importantly, the collaboration I get with my clients is what has made me successful. All the good images I’ve been able to make are born out of some sort of relationship.

I’m in my 9th wedding season and ready to start the next chapter of my wedding photography. I, along with my wife, have launched A Fist Full of Bolts. It’s a rebrand, but more than that it’s an attitude.

76 I get to travel the world with my beautiful wife taking photos of people in love. I’m happy.

Leica M6 This is my personal favorite for personal and professional work. For when I can be slow and deliberate.

Leica 35mm f/2.5 Summarit It’s not a lux or a cron- but it gets the job done.

Canon 5D Mark III The workhorse. The lightweight. The speed of focus, and the silent shutter. Love this camera.

Fuji Instax Mini 90 I bring this to shoots so I can send clients away with a few instant prints from our time together- it’s nice to give something tangible.

Canon 85mm f/1.2L Great lens when I need the length.

Canon 24mm f/3.5L TSE Super fun wide tilt/shift

77 Canon 35mm f/1.4L Could and have shot entire wedding days with just this lens. The ultimate utility lens. My favorite for sure.

Canon 24mm f/1.4L This lens has shaped me as a photographer and continues to force me in close- my favorite place to be when it comes to documenting.

Sean Flanigan’s Camera Gear

Cameras

Canon 5D Mark III Canon 5d Mark II Canon 5d Leica M6 Fuji Instax Mini 90

Lenses

Canon 24mm f/3.5L TSE Canon 24mm f/1.4L Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L Canon 35mm f/1.4L Canon 45mm f/2.8 TSE

78 Canon 50mm f/1.2L Canon 135mm f/2L Leica 35mm f/2.5 Summarit

79 Section 18 TODD MCGAW

www.toddhuntermcgaw.com.au

Hey everyone. I’m Todd, of Todd Hunter Mcgaw photographers. I photograph weddings all over the place with my wife Alyda, and for now, we’re based in

80 Brisbane Australia. It’s nice & sunny. We like the city & all, but we’re thinking we might move to the beach soon – we just really, really like swimming in the ocean.

I’m not really a super tech-head kind of guy but I certainly do appreciate quality and awesome cameras so I have a pretty simple setup when it comes to gear.

At weddings I shoot with one body all day – I used to use a Nikon D4s but now I use a Nikon D750. The D750 is such an amazing camera for weddings... I just love it.. Great in low light and it nails auto focus in low light/low contrast conditions. The D750 dominates all nikon cameras except for the D4s methinks :)

I like my camera strapless. It’s quite liberating shooting with a camera unattached. So what do I do when I need two free hands? I put the camera down :)

I carry my gear in an Incase Ari Marcopoulos bag I wear the bag strap really short like a jazz bass player and that keeps the bag high and super close to my body so I can move around in crowded areas easily without knocking into people/things.

I shoot primes and therefore change lenses about 76573 times every wedding. I leave the lens hoods on and backcaps off all day so i can change lenses on my camera in about 2 seconds. It works well for me.

Even when I shoot weddings without Alyda and use other second shooters, I still shoot one body, and yes, I get my sensors cleaned often. I’m a member of NPS so I get pro sensor cleans for zero dollars.

I spend the majority of my time on the Nikon 35mm f/1.4G, and also love the Nikon 24mm f/1.4G, and the Nikon 85mm f/1.4G. For macro action I carry a Nikon 55mm f/2.8 manual focus lens. It’s about 30 years old and a total optical ninja!

81 We carry a Lowepro CompuTrekker AW Camera Backpack on the wedding day as well. It carries backup gear (Nikon D800, Speedlight, LED Lite Panel, radio triggers, etc), that I only need for certain chapters of the wedding.

Alyda spends most of her time on a Nikon D3s/Nikon 50mm f/1.4 combo. We sometimes swap/share prime lenses as well, but otherwise we have a Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 VRII, and a Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8 that are there if we need them.

My Swiss army knife travels with me for wedding day emergencies like opening beers, unpicking groomsmen’s suit vents/pockets, fashion malfunctions etc. The scissors are awesome and precise. I very occasionally use an LED light panel if needed, and a rechargeable bicycle headlight gives me a super bright concentrated beam when I need it.

We use in-camera dual card slots of course but also backup as we go to a Colorspace UDMA2 dumpdrive, so at the end of the wedding we already have 3 copies of everything and I can easily upload the wedding from one source in 20-30 mins..

That’s pretty much it really. I sometimes shoot film at weddings too if the clients are into it. Usually my Mamiya C330, or 120N. I like these because I can use them quickly – no fuss, the Mamiya’s screen is easy and quick to focus, and the Holga is easy-peezy to use. Shooting film at weddings is not something I do all the time so didn’t photograph the cameras.

Oh yes, we travel a lot too and so I must also mention my favourite travel camera. My trusty Fujifilm X100 (with strap). I just love it – really compact and unassuming, fixed 35mm (equiv.) f2, lovely sharp lens and super quiet leaf shutter. I won the AIPP Australian Travel Photographer of the Year with this camera in 2012.

82 Todd McGaw’s Camera Gear

Cameras

Nikon D750 Nikon D4s Nikon D3s Nikon D800 Mamiya C330 Holga 120N Fujifilm X100

Lenses

Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8 Nikon 24mm f/1.4G Nikon 35mm f/1.4G

Nikon 50mm f/1.4 Nikon 55mm f/2.8 Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 VRII

Other

83 Nikon SB-900 LED Lite Panel Incase Ari Marcopoulos bag Lowepro CompuTrekker AW Camera Backpack Swiss army knife Colorspace UDMA2

84 Section 19 DIXIE DIXON

www.dixiedixon.com

I currently shoot internationally for advertising, editorial, and fashion clients such as Virgin, Nikon, Disney, Florsheim Shoes, Magpul, Profoto, etc! I love bringing each brands personality to life in my imagery and for me the connection is everything! I go to great lengths to connect with the people I work with and am inspired by their

85 energy. It is a creative high for me when I am around passionate, genuine, and creative folks!

I started making pictures when I was just a little one. As silly as it sounds, I was an only-child and I found that I could entertain myself by posing my stuffed animals around the house and make pictures of them. Guess you could say they were my earliest subjects!

I was given my first real camera, the Nikon FG film camera at 12 years and I was in love! Photography for me felt a little rebellious and I really liked that about it.

I’ve always been a Nikon girl and totally obsessed with the Nikkor glass and their gorgeous image quality so one of the biggest highlights of my career was becoming a Nikon Ambassador of the United States this past year. Nikon is an amazing company with truly great people at its core so I’m honored to get to work with them!

Gear-wise my first digital camera was the Nikon D70s Camera - it was 6 megapixels at the time and I’m still amazed at how well it performed with the Nikon 50mm f/ 1.8 lens. That is literally all I had during the first couple years of shooting… then I started growing my equipment as my biz grew.

I’ve owned the , , and Nikon D700 and then upgraded to the Nikon D3x when I booked my first campaign.

Now my main workhorses are:

Cameras:

Nikon D800

86 When I need the HUGE file size for large format printing- I shoot this a lot in fashion and advertising as well as for video. The detail is insane!!!

Nikon D4S When I need speed- the perfect camera for shooting lifestyle, movement and swimwear, I am blown away by how fast it is

Nikon Df When I shoot personal work- I really do love this camera, and the look and feel of it reminds me of my old Nikon FG, for some reason I feel like I’m getting back to basics and the core of why I got into photography in the first place

Nikon D3X Still love this camera

Nikon 1 AW1 for my lil vacation camera! It’s shockproof and waterproof too!

Lenses:

I do own a couple zoom lenses but for some reason I rarely use them. I love the primes for their insane sharpness and simplicity so guess you could say I am my own “walking zoom”

Nikon 35mm f/1.4G This lens is perfect for lifestyle group shots and full body fashion shots where I want to capture a lot of environment in the background

Nikon 50mm f/1.4G I used this lens most often when I first started out and I still use it a lot for full body fashion and waist up shots

87 Nikon 58mm f/1.4G I just got this lens and whoa its sharp! 58mm is actually what the human eye sees naturally so its a nice focal length to have in your bag. Just a little longer than the 50

Nikon 60mm f/2.8D This was my first macro lens and I still use it for product stuff. I usually like the 105 Macro for shooting beauty like lips, nails, and eyes.

Nikon 85mm f/1.4G This is one of my FAVORITE lenses- great all around for portraits, super sharp and blurs the background nicely

Nikon 105mm f/2.8 Macro This is my favorite macro lens! Perfect for shooting close-ups of the lips etc without being too close to your subject

Nikon 135mm f/2D This is an amazing headshot lens and creates a BEAUTIFUL bokeh in the background. It’s from the film days but I still use it often because it has a certain quality I love and the defocus ability

Nikon 180mm f/2.8D IF-ED It’s the second lens I ever owned and I still use it all the time for gorgeous headshots. It’s truly one of my all time favorite lenses and one of the most overlooked and underrated in my opinion. The focal length is nice because it has this flattening effect on the face and is very lightweight.

Nikon 200mm f/2G ED VR II This will be my next purchase! I just rented it the other day and OMG it rocks!

88 Lighting:

I love the Profoto line and their shaping tools: Profoto D1’s for in studio. Profoto B1- great for location shooting without cords - I just fell in love with these!

I also use constant light often so I’ll rent Profoto HMI’s- looks like natural light and they are very powerful For portable constant light, I love the Lowel GL1 Hotlight for a warm look and the Westcott Ice Light for a cooler toned look.

Pocketwizard Plus X ‘s to fire the strobes.

Sekonic (Sekonic L-758) – I use this in studio a lot, I’ve had it since I started.

Storage:

I am obsessed with backing up since I’ve learned the hard way on that one! G-Technology makes the very best drives and I currently use the:

G-Dock – for on set backup- it makes two duplicate backups on set via thunderbolt

G-Speed Q ’s- they are huge capacity enterprise quality drives set up as a Raid - I have two of these and one is an archive drive with all of my raw files and one is a working drive. Then I have another one at a different location for safety

I also have a bunch of G-Drive slims and some of their Raid drives for video editing.

As for memory cards, I love the super fast Lexar Cards and their Professional Workflow HR2.

89 Business Cards and Promo Materials:

Black River Imaging Loft line - I totally love these because of their thickness and beautiful presentation!!!

Portfolios:

Graphistudio - I design my portfolios online through their software and upload the order and they print and bind them in Italy. Love the glass covers and their Minibooks to leave behind with potential clients.

Color Management:

I've used the X-rite i1 Display Pro since I first started and it keeps my colors spot on from screen to print!!!

Post-Processing:

Apple Macbook Pro and IMAC- they run all the programs I need very quickly– I’m passionate about the Apple products-they are completely worth the investment… plus they’re powered by the super fast new Intel Core Processors iPad to shoot tethered on set and iPhone of course

Adobe Photoshop CS6 for retouching- a must-have

Hats:

Can’t overlook this one, ha! I am passionate about hats and have a ton of these Brixton Hooligans ;)

90 Sheesh thats a lot of gear.. Ha! Keep in mind that you can make amazing images with the simplest of gear… I literally started with one camera and one lens and got by just fine… I rent gear a lot per job and have grown my equipment as my business has grown.

Dixie Dixon’s Camera Gear

Cameras

Nikon D800 Nikon D4S Nikon Df Nikon D3X Nikon 1 AW1

Lenses

Nikon 35mm f/1.4G Nikon 50mm f/1.4G Nikon 58mm f/1.4G Nikon 60mm f/2.8D Nikon 85mm f/1.4G Nikon 105mm f/2.8 Macro Nikon 135mm f/2D Nikon 180mm f/2.8D IF-ED Nikon 200mm f/2G ED VR II

Other

91 Profoto D1 Profoto B1 Profoto HMI’s Lowel GL1 Hotlight Westcott Ice Light Pocketwizard Plus X Sekonic L-758) G-Dock G-Speed Q G-Drive slims Raid drives Lexar Cards Professional Workflow HR2. X-rite i1 Display Pro Apple Macbook Pro iMAC

Interview with Dixie Dixon

92 Section 20 DARREN HEATH

www.darrenheath.com

It’s only ever been about Formula 1 I guess. From a very young age I watched races on television and attended events with my father primarily at Brands Hatch, a circuit 20 miles south east of London.

93 At about the age of 13-14 I started taking photographs and quickly realised I enjoyed the art immensely so opined to combine the two. From then on 90% of my spare time was spent pursuing my dream of one day becoming a photographer of F1. Of course I did, and still do, like almost all forms of motor sport but I aimed for the pinnacle so Formula 1 was the goal.

2014 is my 25th year working professionally in the sport and – thankfully! – I still look forward to every race and feel incredibly fortunate to travel the world and get paid to take pictures of racing cars.

Photography is, as all involved know only too well, essentially a very subjective art. One man’s meat is another’s murder. I work very hard to get across as many elements of what happens over a race weekend so as to – hopefully – make people aware that F1 is far more than 65 laps on a Sunday afternoon in some far-off country.

The goal is to get across to the end viewer of my work the feeling that I have for a sport I adore; the colour, the speed, the noise, the spectacle that it is to see a thoroughbred racing machine driven to the limits of its abilities by the men who pilot them. Focussing on the human element of the sport by spending time with the mechanics and engineers – the guys who work long into the night fettling the cars in a never ending quest to gain a thousandth of a second in time over their rivals.

In essence F1 is a people sport, a fact that so often gets forgotten amidst the technological arms race that the sport undoubtably is.

As you can see from the picture of my photographic equipment I shoot with Canon cameras and lenses. When attending races as a teenager I lusted after a Canon ‘New’ F1, eventually owning a pretty good ‘amateur’ kit. As soon as Canon took the

94 bold and forward thinking step of introducing the EOS range in 1989 I invested in the new system.

Fast forward to now, I shoot F1 on two Canon 1DX bodies through a variety of lenses. As far as my choice of glass is concerned I’ve long been of the opinion that one is encouraged to be a better photographer creating pictures through prime lenses. One has to move to make the picture rather than simply twist or push/pull the zoom ring. Of course there are quality benefits – to using fixed focal length optics – but if one is shooting with high specification versions that’s not really an issue as contemporary zoom lenses perform to a very good level.

As is the case with so many photographers I long lusted after a Leica. I recently took possession of the Leica M240 and a Leica 50mm f/0.95 Noctilux lens. I adore both of them, reveling in the joy of using a camera that is contemporary in function while retaining a gorgeous feel of the past.

My equipment used at the 2014 Canadian grand prix – where the picture was shot – was as follows:

2x Canon 1DX camera bodies.

Canon 14mm f/2.8L USM Canon 24mm f/1.4L II USM Canon 50mm f/1.2L USM Canon 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM Canon 200mm f/2.0L IS USM Canon 600mm f/4L IS USM Canon Extender EF 1.4x III Canon Extender EF 2x III Canon Extension Tube EF 12

95 Leica M240 Camera. Leica 50mm f/0.95 Noctilux (not pictured as I took the shot with it!) Polarising and ND filters Manfrotto 695CX Carbon Fiber 5 Section Monopod Vanguard Kinray Lite 22B waist pouch Domke F-945 Belt pouches Think Tank City Walker 10

I try to keep my equipment as streamlined as possible, especially as I shoot only primes, meaning, obviously, I have to carry more glass than if I shot with zoom lenses.

20 or so years ago almost every photographer covering Formula 1 almost exclusively shot with wide to standard and medium telephoto zooms. My work with prime lenses influenced many to ditch their push – pull obsession resulting in fixed focal length glass being used by a majority of snappers in the sport, even including more paparazzi style news agency shooters!

My photographic techniques I guess boil down to the basics of good composition with effective use of natural light being of paramount importance. I’m a firm believer in photographic fundamentals such as the rule of thirds, thinking long and hard about how a picture’s constituent parts go to make up the whole image. The balancing of elements within the shot, leading lines, symmetry and patterns, one’s viewpoint, the depth, and the picture’s background, to name but a few.

For the young guy (or girl!) who dreams of photographing F1 as a career I’d simply encourage them to practice, practice and practice some more. As a teenager I used to shoot cars passing my bedroom window so as to improve my panning technique!

96 Settle upon a style, think about the end result of all your images, only show your best work and NEVER work for free.

Study the work of those working in motor sport photography and also – as I often do – those working in other fields of the art. It is very possible to bring elements of landscape, portrait, still life and of course reportage photographers’ work into one’s motor racing coverage. Particular favourites of mine being Maier, Soth, Egglestone, Shore, Kandar etc, etc. I also love the cinematography work of Roger Deakins and Greig Fraser.

Darren Heath’s Camera Gear

Cameras

Canon 1DX Leica M240

Lenses

Canon 14mm f/2.8L Canon 24mm f/1.4L II Canon 50mm f/1.2L Canon 100mm f/2.8L Macro Canon 200mm f/2.0L Canon 600mm f/4L IS Canon Extender EF 1.4x III Canon Extender EF 2x III Canon Extension Tube EF 12

97 Leica 50mm f/0.95 Noctilux

Other

Polarising and ND filters Manfrotto 695CX Carbon Fiber 5 Section Monopod Vanguard Kinray Lite 22B waist pouch Domke F-945 Belt pouches Think Tank City Walker 10

98 Section 21 DAVE HILL

www.davehillphoto.com

This is the first time I’ve really put all my cameras together like this. It was fun to spread them out in a pile. Each one has its own set of memories.

I realize I’m pretty obsessed with different camera types. They all have their own strengths and weaknesses.

99

Here are my opinions on them all.

Canon 6D

This is my newest purchase. I finally sold my old Canon 5D Mark II last month. I wanted the Canon 6D mainly for street/travel photography, and I liked the silent shutter mode. I chose it over the 5Diii for a few reasons. It has built-in WiFi, which has been great for Instagramming on the road, as well as built in GPS (not too useful, but I’ll take it.)

It’s lighter, cheaper, about the same resolution, and lastly, even though it has less auto-focus points, the center one is more sensitive to low light. What do I need 5 billion points for anyway?!

I also just bought the new Canon 35mm f/2. It’s much smaller than the Canon 35mm f/1.4, has fast auto-focus (much better than the older 35mm f2). So far, the Canon 6D and this Canon 35mm f/2has been a really fun street/travel camera combo.

Canon lenses

Of course I still have all three classic 2.8 L zooms. The Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 v1, Canon 16-35mm f/2.8 v2, and Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 non-IS. They mostly collect dust, except for the Canon 24-70mm f/2.8, which is good for shooting background plates. I also have a few other random Canon lenses that are more special-purpose, like the Canon 100mm f/2.8 macro.

Sony NEX 7

100 I did a shoot with Sony a few years back that advertised their Sony NEX 5 camera. After a week of using it, I really fell in love with it. It was my first mirrorless camera. Sadly, I didn’t even get to keep the $500 camera, so a few months later, when the Sony NEX 7 came out, I bought it, along with the Zeiss 24mm f/1.8.

I’ve used this camera more than any other digital in the past 2 years (well, except for the iPhone). The Sony NEX 7 is really small, great for street and travel photos. I love the flip-up screen. You can be so incognito. This is one area that it beats SLRs and the Fuji’s. The Zeiss 24mm f/1.8 is sharp and fast, though I wish it were smaller. I’ve tried my Leica lenses with an adapter, but it’s a pretty worthless experience. Manually focusing on mirrorless is slow and painful compared to a real rangefinder. I say if you go mirrorless, stick with the autofocus lenses that are meant for the camera.

I still use the Sony NEX 7 a lot, though I’ve been enjoying shooting with my Canon DSLR a lot more again, as “boring” as it is.

Hasselblad H3D-50ii

For my commercial jobs, I have primarily rented medium-format digital cameras, mostly the Phase One P45 and IQ180. Two years ago, I thought I’d save money and buy my own setup. Of course I could only afford a used Hasselblad H3D-50. I bought it off Craigslist.

The images are great at ISO 100 and 200. Past that, they are pretty bad. Because it’s a Hassleblad back, I have to use their own tether software called Phocus, which has been a terrible experience. It constantly crashes and after using the camera on a few commercial jobs, I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s just not stable enough for professional use.

101 Sadly, the camera is now used as a backup and also to shoot background plates. I should probably just sell it, but I’m not sure how much it’s even worth anymore.

The Hasselblad H cameras are really clunky and big. In my opinion, digital just doesn’t have a big enough market to fund making good cameras. Compared to how good Nikon, Canon, and Sony’s have become, Phase One’s and Hassleblad H’s are pieces of garbage tied to high-res sensors.

And for $40k new? Really?! hahahaha

I have the 80mm and 50mm Hasselblad H lenses for it. They are both good enough.

I’m still waiting for Canon or Sony to come out with a mirrorless medium format and finally close the doors of Phase One and Hasselblad. I think it will happen eventually.

Go Pro Hero 3

I don’t use this too often. I wonder how many GoPro’s are sitting around doing nothing? I guess I really only got it to do RC Car videos with my brother.

I’m pretty sick and tired of seeing GoPro footage in general.

Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera

The Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera is amazing. I do a lot of filmmaking and have always rented in the past. This is the first digital cinema camera I’ve owned. (let’s be honest, the Canon 5D Mark II doesn’t count). It’s only $1,000 and could shoot a feature film.

I shot my last short film with it. I shoot my Instagram TV show with it. I use it for Behind the Scenes. It’s amazing. It hasn’t shut down or crapped out or given me any issues yet. The images are flat and awesome, shooting straight to ProRes. I love the

102 small sensor size. It’s the antithesis of the shallow depth-of-fieldy DSLR Vimeo stuff we are all so sick of seeing, (generalization, I know)

If you own a DSLR just for video… please sell it. Seriously. Sell it. DSLR video should be dead.

I got the SLR Magic HyperPrime Cine 12mm T/1.6. It’s fast and sharp (from f/ 1.6-5.6 at least). Such a killer combo.

Blackmagic is doing some great things these days. Their new URSA 4k camera looks awesome. RED is going to be stuck in the middle between Blackmagic and Arri if they don’t watch out.

Leica M6

Where do I start? The Leica M6 is my favorite camera. It always will be. It owns a piece of my heart. I bought two bodies on Craigslist in Nashville in 2006. At the time, film was dead. The Leica M6 brought me out of my digital compositing funk. I started on BW film in college and the Leica brought me back to it. Over the past 7 years, I’ve been shooting BW film non-stop. I love it. Using a rangefinder is such a great experience.

Now I just wish I’d get hired to shoot with it!

I have the Leica 35mm f/2 Summicron. I love this lens. It’s really all I need. I also have an older Leica 50mm f/2, which I don’t use much, and the Leica 90mm f/2.8. The 90mm usually joins the 35mm on vacation. It’s so small for a 90mm!

I only have one gripe with the Leica M6. Everyone says to get a Leica because they are so tough. I disagree. Both of my Leicas have gone in for repair and lube a few times. Each visit costs around $270. The rangefinder gets out of alignment The

103 shutter counter stops working. The shutter curtain has lag which causes odd patterns. Happens to both of my bodies. Kind of ridiculous.

These issues don’t happen on any random mid 90’s Canon or Nikon SLRs.

I have a Nikon Coolscan 9000 which I used to scan all my film with. Recently I’ve become lazy/busy and have Richard Photo lab process and scan for me. In the end, it’s more cost effective and keeps me shooting more, computing less.

Canon Rebel T2

I got this little 35mm film camera on eBay a few years back for around $50. It’s the most modern film Rebel Canon made and actually has some decent features. Good autofocus, very small.

Last summer at a friend’s wedding, I paired it with my older Canon 35mm f/2 and shot it on Program mode all week. Everything was sharp and exposed well. I doubt anyone could tell the different between the photos from the Canon Rebel T2 and my Leica M6’s.

Hasselblad 500cm

This was my second medium format camera. I got a Bronica SQ-ai system in the early 2000s which I loved, but everyone said I needed the Hasselblad 500cm since it was sharper, etc, so I sold the Bronica and bought a used 500cm and 80mm lens. I also got the 50mm and the 150mm.

I’ve only had two commercial jobs where the client wanted me to shoot BW film. I used the 500cm on both. This camera was definitely built for commercial jobs in 70s-90s. I have a bunch of backs, so my assistants could always have film loaded and ready to switch out. It’s a workhorse.

104 I don’t really have any complaints with it, but for some reason, I’ve never really loved it. The cheaper Bronica was actually more of a joy to shoot with. The backs were easier to load and the finder and advance knob were designed better.

The Hasselblad 500cm has always been too big and heavy to carry around on vacations, and it’s not inconspicuous enough for street/journalism, in my opinion.

For now, this camera collects dust.

Toyo 45CF

Of course, any photographer who takes themselves seriously has to dabble in large-format at some point, right?

In 2007 I bought an old Calumet studio 4×5 camera and 210mm lens. The camera had a light-leak, so I gave it to Goodwill and bought this $800 Toyo 45CF plastic field camera. For what it is, it works great. I shot a bunch of landscapes and a few bands with it in 2007-2008. It was fun.

Kodak and Fuji have since stopped making the Quickload film sheets, so now the only option is loading each sheet manually. I’m pretty lazy so this was kind of a deal- breaker for me. I may play around with it again someday but who knows? It’s tough to find the motivation when I could shoot with the….

Mamiya 7ii

The Mamiya 7ii. This camera has gotten a lot of hype and has had a resurgence over the past few years and rightfully so. It’s pretty much a plastic, 6×7 medium-format Leica. For travel, landscapes, and journalism, it’s really hard to beat.

105 I have the Mamiya 80mm f/4 and Mamiya 50mm f/4.5 lenses. Both are soooo sharp, though I use the Mamiya 7ii 80mm f/4 99% of the time. The scans I get back from these negatives are about as good as the 4×5 scans I’ve done, so unless I need tilt/shift, there doesn’t seem to be much advantage with 4×5.

The Mamiya 7 is really small and a lot lighter than the Hasselblad 500cm. The only real disadvantage is the lack of interchangeable film backs. I’ve tried using it for some personal fashion test shoots, and it’s a pain when you have to reload every 10 shots and your talent sits and watches. I guess you could buy two bodies to solve this issue.

I just got finished with a documentary project on the city of Barstow, CA. I used this camera for all of it. It casually dangled on my wrist the whole time. I love it.

Nikonos V

The Nikonos V was a fun/cheap Craigslist purchase a few years back. I’ve taken it on snorkeling/diving locations and it’s worked well. I have the 28mm and 35mm lenses. Both are sharp underwater. I remember drooling over this camera in the 90s, so I enjoy having it in my collection now.

Rollei A110

I first saw this little 110 film camera at the Pasadena Camera Show. I was so impressed with it’s small size and solid build that I couldn’t get it out of my head. A few months later I bought one on eBay for about $50. I’ve only shot a few rolls of 110 film with it, but the exposures were all right-on and the images were sharp, considering the small negative. Gosh, as I’m writing this, I kinda wish I had this camera with me right now.

106 Dave Hill’s Camera Gear

Cameras

Canon 6D Sony NEX 7 Hasselblad H3D-50ii Go Pro Hero 3 Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera Leica M6 Canon Rebel T2 Hasselblad 500cm Toyo 45CF Mamiya 7ii Nikonos V Rollei A110

Lenses

Canon 16-35mm f/2.8 Canon 35mm f/2 Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 Canon 100mm f/2.8 macro Leica 35mm f/2 Summicron Leica 50mm f/2 Leica 90mm f/2.8

107 Mamiya 50mm f/4.5 Mamiya 80mm f/4 Mamiya 7ii 80mm f/4

Other

Nikon Coolscan 9000

108 Section 22 MIKE KELLEY

www.mpkelley.com

My name is Michael Kelley and I am an architectural and fine art photographer based in Los Angeles, CA. I’m most known for my architectural work, which combines long exposures, light painting, and a measured dose of post processing to extend the decisive moment from a fraction of a second into a few hours or more.

109 I’ve been photographing architecture for about five years now and in those years have been lucky enough to travel around the world on assignment, see some absolutely breathtaking spaces, and go through every piece of lighting equipment you can possibly imagine in that time frame!

In 2013 I was lucky enough to collaborate with Fstoppers on an 8 hour long tutorial which has opened a ton of new doors for me on the photographic industry side of things, and this year I’ll be teaching at Gulf Photo Plus and the Fstoppers Bahamas workshops which are both shaping up to be pretty killer.

The picture above is the culmination of five years of trial and error with the right gear, and happily I’ve finally settled in on what I think is all I need.

My architectural photography gear list:

1. Gaff Tape

Gaff tape for everything. Pink/yellow/orange tape for visibility. I go through this like water.

2. Bose SoundLink Mini

Great for turning a completely quiet and awkward set into a much more relaxed environment. The sound quality out of this thing is just incredible for the size of it.

3. X-rite Colorchecker

110 Always great to have a solid reference of correct color when shooting challenging interiors. The notion of perfect color pretty much goes out the window on location but this helps me get close.

4. Eneloop rechargeable AA and AAA batteries

Being a photographer and not owning rechargeables is pretty stupid. These have saved me hundreds, probably thousands of dollars over the years. I buy Eneloops because they last forever and don’t drain on their own, work with speedlights and remote triggers, and hold a lot of charge.

5. Random grip, A-clamps and extension cables, clothespins and splitters

Sometimes I need to get power in weird places. 100-foot extension cables, three- way splitters.

6. Light bulbs in various wattages

To fix color temperatures and brightness issues, I always carry a few spare bulbs. Sometimes the lights on location are burnt out too. Easy and cheap solution. Make sure they are NOT LEDs as sometimes LED color casts can be very funky and impossible to dim. Stick with fluoros and incandescent.

7. Black cloth, 1 and 2-stop white scrim, super clamps

I obviously can’t fit all of my grip equipment here, but there is a giant black bag filled with black cloth, white cloth, clamps, diffusion panels, light shaping tools, you

111 name it. Shaping, taming and subtracting the natural light is just as important as adding and shaping our artificial light.

8. Telephoto bellows for Sinar F1

Standard bellows for most portrait and telephoto length lenses on large format.

9. ILEX No. 4 w/ Acme Synchro Shutter f6.3/300mm

Actually an 8×10 lens, but works very well on the 4×5 as a long portrait lens.

10. Fuji PA-45 Film Holder for instant film

Instant film back for 4×5. The most breathtaking polaroids I’ve ever seen (granted I’ve never shot 8×10 instant)

11. Sinar F1 4×5 camera with bag bellows and Rodenstock 45mm f/4.5 Apo- Grandagon

Ah, the ‘ol Sinar. Very fun to use, and so interesting in that it takes me a whole day of planning to take a couple pictures. Really makes you slow down and think about what you’re shooting and has taught me a great deal about the intricacies of photography. I only shoot black and white with it, but it’s always fun to take it out for a day. The big problem I have is that I’ve got a drawer full of negs that, while beautiful, I haven’t done anything with. The Rodenstock 45mm is an amazing lens that I got a stupidly good deal on and I just couldn’t pass it up.

112 12. iPads, big and Mini, Macbook Pro 15”

I’m a geek. iPads are simply the best solution for shooting tethered with the CamRanger, and I often give one to clients while they watch me shoot so they can follow along. I’ve been a Mac guy forever and just love the MBP for traveling. Be sure to max out your RAM or you’ll be hurting from the large file size of composites.

13. CamRanger

My most-loved piece of gear, for it’s gotten rid of the need for lugging a 17” MacbookPro around on set all day. Instant wireless tethering and sharing. Too good, a steal for $300.

14. Fuji x100s

My travel camera. I bring it everywhere instead of my DSLRs. Picture quality is great and the colors are just PERFECT. Such a relief for me to not have to carry giant SLRs all over the place. It’s also great for tricking people into thinking you aren’t a photographer :)

15. Gels!

I use gels on nearly every picture I make. Colors can be all over the place especially on location, and controlling the temperature of light is so important to creating mood. I use the Honl speed system gels for my speedlights and a giant Rosco pack that I cut up for the big guys.

113 16. Portable USB charger

Because you never know when you’re going to run out of batteries on your phone, iPad, etc. I personally use one I got on Amazon with the brand name ‘Jackery’ but I imagine they all do much the same thing.

17. B+W ND and Polarizers

I don’t know why I own the ND. I never shoot landscapes and it’s useless for architecture because the one I own isn’t strong enough, but the polarizer comes in handy every day. Nearly invaluable, but be prepared to bump your ISO like crazy. It’ll eat a good two stops. Nice for taming harsh sunlight and reflective surfaces.

18. Speedlights

Used to be a mainstay of my kit, now mostly used as small kicker lights or when I don’t need to light a massive space. Speedlights, while super easy and great if you’re okay with pushing high ISO, just don’t allow me the creative freedom I need when shooting large spaces lately.

19. Canon 50mm f/1.4

Detail lens. Great for walking around quickly and shooting small stuff for vignettes.

20. Canon 1.4 extender

114 Turns my tilt shifts into longer tilt shifts. The ability to have a 35mm TS is amazing when paired with the 24.

21. Canon 40mm f/2.8 pancake

I will be honest, I only bought this because it was on sale for $100. I think I’ve used it once in my entire life. Useful as an “oh my god something really cool is happening on the side of the road and I need a picture NOW” lens cap, though, so it’s got that going for it.

22. Canon 6D

I like this camera a lot. Incredible value and amazing image quality. Little secret: I shot ‘Wake Turbulence’ with this little guy, and have printed it up to 110” wide. Looks INCREDIBLE.

22a: Canon 17mm f/4 tilt shift.

One of my favorite lenses. I don’t use it often, but when I use it, it’s mindblowing how good it is. A fickle beast, however, requires some serious practice before serious use.

23. Canon 5d Mark III

My main workhorse camera. 22mp is just enough for the heavy compositing I usually do and the camera is solid as a rock. I’ve never had a problem printing big or with dynamic range, I usually get exactly what I want. Full frame is so perfect with

115 the tilt shifts.

23a: The Canon 24mm f/3.5 tilt shift is my gopher lens (thanks Peter Hurley for the reference) as I break it out for nearly 85% of my pictures. I am of the opinion that it is the single best lens that Canon makes. Sharp everywhere, amazingly useful, tons of creative possibilities.

24. Canon 17-40mm f/4

Mostly relegated to backup use for me. Lots of barrel distortion, which makes it difficult to use for architecture, but sharp at f8 and wide enough when I need it on a second or third camera.

25. Canon 24-70mm f/4 IS

I love this for aerials and details. The f/2.8 version has comical barrel distortion but the Canon 24-70mm f/4 IS is super sharp. The IS is great for aerials and I never shoot faster than f/4 so it’s a great lens at a great price for me. Macro mode is useful for details and surprisingly good.

26. Canon 24-105mm f/4

I paid $200 for this, and anyone who would turn that down is insane. Great multipurpose lens but mostly sits unused in my office since I have this range covered much better by the Canon 24-70mm f/4.

116 27. Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6

I love planes – this is my go-to aviation lens. I use it once a month or so but it’s so, so perfect for that kind of stuff. Dork alert.

28. Canon 70-200mm IS f/2.8 II

What hasn’t been written about this lens? Fantastic, though I only really use it for aerials. Stays at home when I shoot architecture. Sharp, fast, great IS, dependable and solid as a rock.

29. Canon 70-200mm f/4

My travel telephoto. The 2.8 version is way too heavy for me when traveling, so I bring along the f4 version instead. Super sharp and I’m always on a tripod anyway.

30. Sennheiser ew122pg3

Love these suckers for recording audio when shooting BTS or doing little tutorials.

31. Profoto D1 1000 Air Monolight Studio Kit

Ah, the meat-and-potatoes of my lighting setup. Just love this sucker. 1000w of power with wireless triggering built in. I break these out when the B1s can’t cover it with their 500w of power. With the high ISO capabilities that most of today’s cameras have, this is a great light in a compact package that can throw enough to light up most tough situations.

117 32. Profoto Air Remote

The single best remote triggering device on the planet. Believe me, I’ve tried them all.

33. Lowel GL-1 Hotlight

Pricey, but one of my most useful assets. Amazing little device with perfect color that I use to paint light in smaller areas, especially inside. Again, completely wireless and quick to use, my favorite way of shooting. Fast and light. A little fragile though, so be careful with it.

34. Profoto B1 lights

Have completely changed the way I work. Think of them as giant, super-powerful speedlights that work EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. with no hassles or frustration. Remote power control via the Profoto Air Remote means I can easily adjust light power without fuss, and god, what else can I say. I just love these things. No packs, no cables, no BS. If you have the budget these are a #1 must buy. I was a pretty big skeptic until I tried them for myself, but they’re worth every penny.

35. Profoto Reflectors

Aim the lights. Nothing crazy here, but you need a few since the B1’s built in reflector is kinda spilly.

36. Profoto Umbrellas

118 My favorite umbrellas. Very efficient with great spread and direction to the light. I use these for covering a wide swath of area in a nice, soft light. I use the large, deep ones. Make sure you get the silver backing for efficiency. Sometimes I’ll use a convertible umbrella as a shoot-thru to fill a room with soft light.

37. Manfrotto 055CX3

Backup tripod. Nice and small. I used this as my primary for years and loved it, but after awhile I wanted something a little more substantial.

38. Arca Swiss C1 Cube

Simply the best tripod head on the market. Precision geared movements, no need for an L-bracket, rock-solid construction and a built-in leveling head make this one of my most valuable tools. I was using the Manfrotto 410 for years and truthfully it just couldn’t cut the mustard. The Cube solves all of the Manfrotto’s problems, namely sag and stiff cranks. The ability to level the head and rotate the camera on a level plane is just amazing and a huge time saver.

39. Really Right Stuff TVC-33

This thing is a beast. I splurged a bit here, but man do I love this guy. Every time I unfold it I fall in love a little more. Paired with the Cube, I don’t think there’s a better setup for architectural photography. Solid as a rock, doesn’t move an inch, super light and just beautiful to look at too.

40. Manfrotto 161mk2b

119 Heavy as hell, but nearly 12 feet tall when fully extended, this helps me get elevated shots. Be warned though, it’s a pain to lug around! But in a pinch, it’s so necessary for getting height. I need the sturdiness for my compositing work, and the weight really helps with that. Lives in the back of my car due to the weight, but like I said, when you need it, you really need it. I wouldn’t mess with anything flimsier or lighter.

Mike Kelley’s Camera Gear

Cameras

Canon 5d Mark III Fuji x100s Canon 6D Sinar F1 4×5

Lenses

Canon 17mm f/4TS/e. Canon 17-40mm f/4 Canon 24mm f/3.5 tilt shift Canon 24mm f/3.5 tilt shift Canon 24-70mm f/4 IS Canon 24-105mm f/4 Canon 40mm f/2.8 pancake Canon 50mm f/1.4

120 Canon 70-200mm IS f/2.8 II Canon 70-200mm f/4 Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 Canon 1.4 extender

Other

X-rite Colorchecker Eneloop rechargeable AA and AAA batteries Telephoto bellows for Sinar F1 ILEX No. 4 w/ Acme Synchro Shutter f6.3/300mm Instant film back for 4×5 iPad Macbook Pro 15” CamRanger Sennheiser ew122pg3 Profoto D1 1000 Air Monolight Studio Kit Profoto Air Remote Lowel GL-1 Hotlight Profoto B1 lights Profoto Reflectors Profoto Umbrellas Manfrotto 055CX3 Arca Swiss C1 Cube Really Right Stuff TVC-33 Manfrotto 161mk2b

121 Portable USB charger B+W ND & Polarizers

122 Section 23 JENNIFER MOHER

www.jennifermoher.com

My name is Jennifer Moher and I am wedding photographer based in Ontario, Canada. I started shooting 5 years ago with the intention of being able to document human relationships. This gave me an outlet to people-watch which further developed into a love of others’ love stories.

123 I initially started with the Nikon D60, and loved Nikon right away! My upgrading process was tiny steps at a time, from the Nikon D60 to the Nikon D90 to the Nikon D7000.

In 2011 I purchased a Nikon D700 which stayed with me until I finally took the plunge in 2013 and bought my Nikon D4.

I have bought, owned and sold many lenses for many different reasons. Nikon 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 came with my first camera. Being self-taught, this lens served its purpose well as it allowed me to learn about composition and focal length without spending a lot of money.

The Nikon 50mm f/1.8D was referenced by many people in the industry as the lens I must purchase next. Given its price tag, I agreed.

In order to get more range I purchased the Nikon 80-200mm f2.8D. Then, when I finally upgraded to full frame, I went a little purchase happy and bought the Nikon 105mm f/2.8, Nikon 135mm f/2D,Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8, Nikon 20-35mm f/2.8D, Nikon 45mm f/2.8D tilt shift and the following which now make up my current kit:

Nikon 35mm f/1.4G – This lens is on my body 80% of the time. I find it versatile and beautiful.

Nikon 50mm f/1.4D – I use this lens through the ceremony and the occasional portrait.

Nikon 85mm f/1.4D – I love this lens. I love how quick it focuses and the look of the images. I use this lens mainly for ceremony and photos during speeches when I need that extra bit of distance.

At the time of purchasing the Nikon 20-35mm f/2.8D, I only had the 50 and 85 and

124 needed something wider. I found it used online for a very reasonable price and as money was an issue and I could not afford the Nikon 35mm f/1.4G or the Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 at that time, I opted for the cheaper route. It ended up being a wonderful lens, I sold it about a year later and purchased the Nikon 35mm f/1.4G as I found I was never using focal lengths wider than this. It was great for me to determine which wider focal lengths I felt more comfortable with.

The Nikon 80-200mm f2.8D was purchased for the same reason. I owned the 50 and 85 and felt that I needed a longer focal length, but could not afford the 70-200mm. I found a used Nikon 80-200mm f2.8D online and used it for ceremony and reception photos. At this time I had discovered my need for a macro lens and purchased the Nikon 105mm f/2.8. About a year later I sold the Nikon 80-200mm f2.8D and bought the Nikon 135mm f/2D as I was never using the 80-200mm past around 135mm anyway.

Ultimately I prefer how primes feel and work. I find I am more thoughtful with my compositions. Experimenting with so many different lenses was a wonderful thing for me as I was really able to see what worked best for me. I would highly encourage others to do the same. Lenses are not one size fits all, you need to shop around!

I love the simplicity of my kit, I am able to wear my camera around my neck, with my Nikon SB-910, and two lenses in my Kelly Moore bag. I am able to move around quickly and never feel weighed down. I still own my Nikon D700 as a backup and a Fuji X100s for travel and day to day photos. I also have a Polaroid SX-70 that I bring to the occasional wedding for something a little different!

125 Jennifer Moher’s Camera Gear

Cameras

Nikon D4 Nikon D700 Fuji X100s Polaroid SX-70

Lenses

Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 Nikon 35mm f/1.4G Nikon 45mm f/2.8D tilt shift Nikon 50mm f/1.4D Nikon 50mm f/1.8D Nikon 85mm f/1.4D Nikon 105mm f/2.8 Nikon 135mm f/2D

126 Section 24 DAMIEN LOVEGROVE

www.lovegrovephotography.com

I shoot people for pleasure and profit. I’ve been a professional photographer in one guise or another since 1984 when I started submitting images to the Science Photo Library in London. I joined the BBC the same year as a cameraman and had a career

127 in television that lasted 14 years. I then shot commercial stills for top name clients before becoming a wedding photographer.

In 2010 I retired from shooting weddings to start a career in portraiture and education. I teach photography all over the world and I shoot commissioned portraits for publication. You can read my blog Prophotonut.

I’ve a long history of changing camera kits. I’ve owned over 40 cameras in my time and always have one principle camera that I use day to day.

In the digital era I’ve had Hasselblad and Phase One medium format kit along with SLRs from Canon and Nikon. I now solely use the Fujifilm X system and I’ve never looked back since switching to Fujifilm in 2012.

It started with the Fujifilm X100 and now I’m using the Fujifilm X-T1 for all my day to day shooting. I have the Fujifilm X-Pro1 as my backup body and my wife Julie shoots her location work with the Fujifilm X-E2. There are times when the Fujifilm X-E2 makes it into my bag as a second body because it is so similar to the Fujifilm X- T1 in its menu system and button layout.

The Fujifilm X-Pro1 served me well for two years and as it was the best Fujifilm out there it didn’t leave me wanting more. When the Fujifilm X-T1 came along it had moved the X project on so far I knew I wanted to upgrade. I have kept my original body that was re wrapped by Fujifilm repair guru Mark Prentice at Fujifilm UK as part of a product test for their customisation service.

I’m not normally indecisive with lenses but when I laid them out for this shot I realised just how many I’ve got. When I’m on a portrait assignment I always shoot with the primes. I take the Fujifilm 14mm f/2.8, Fujifilm 23mm f/1.4, Fujifilm 35mm f/1.4 and Fujifilm 56mm f/1.2 lenses.

128 If I’m shooting beauty or outdoor figure in the landscape shots I take the Fujifilm 60mm f/2.4 Macroinstead of the Fujifilm 56mm f/1.2. I just love the look of the bokeh of the 60mm wide open at f/2.4. It has a more painterly look than that of the 56mm lens. I can get right in on the 60mm too without resorting to using macro mode.

The Fujifilm 60mm f/2.4 is probably my favourite lens in the Fujifilm line up and it was the first that I bought.

When I shoot landscapes, or travel images I like to use the zooms. I have the Fujifilm 10-24mm f/4,Fujifilm 18-55mm f/2.8-4 and the Fujifilm 55-200mm f/3.5-4.8 zoom lenses all with IS and all super sharp. So I always take one body with a lens and have either three primes or two zooms in the bag too. My spare kit lives in the car so I’ve got access to it if I need it. I’ve never got into carrying more than one camera around and I can’t stand camera straps either.

On the left of the picture are some filter stacks. I have ND filters for use when I’m shooting with flash, polarisers for landscapes and Tiffen Black Pro mist filters for my interior portrait work. I’ve tried pouches but they get so bulky so now I use filter stacking caps instead. You will notice that the text on the front of my lenses is blacked out. I used a permanent marker to do this as it was being reflected by the ND filters and was visible in the image. We used to do this with our Zeiss Distagons for Super 16 when I was at the BBC too.

A lot of my shooting involves using flash. I’ve tried every kind of flash trigger out there from Pocket Wizard to Phottix and by far the best set up is the Cactus V6 wireless flash transceiver system. It works brilliantly with the Fujifilm X system and I can use any of my numerous Canon and Nikon Speedlights with full control from

129 the camera or I can use the dedicated Cactus RF60 Speedlight with the RF receiver built in.

The Cactus advantage is you get a full LCD read out of the flash power set in 1/3 stop or full stop increments for each of the 4 groups. It just works and I’ve never missed a shot. I use bigger flash systems too and my kit of choice is the Elinchrom Quadra. I use a Skyport trigger system with my Fujifilms when I’m working with the 400ws Quadra.

My cameras all have ‘L’ brackets and the Fujifilm X-Pro1 and Fujifilm X-E2 cameras have added grips too. The ‘L’ brackets fit my lever lock ball heads on my monopod and tripods. The heads are made by Really Right Stuff and are so well engineered that they will outlast me. I use my monopod on most shoots at some point.

All the kit I need for each shoot is packed into my Think Tank Retrospective 7 camera bag. This bag is ideal for a Fujifilm X-T1 with 4 primes or an Fujifilm X-T1 with 3 zooms, a Speedlight, trigger, spare batteries, iPad, wallet and keys.

My lighting kit is extensive and has many kit bags of its own.

The Fujifilm advantage is the system is small, has a super image quality and above all else is a joy to use. The fun that I get from photography has a lot to do with the kit I’m using and I’ve never felt more creative than I do right now. I’ve said goodbye to SLRs for good.

Damien Lovegrove’s Camera Gear

Cameras

130 Fujifilm X100 Fujifilm X-T1 Fujifilm X-Pro1 Fujifilm X-E2

Lenses

Fujifilm 10-24mm f/4 Fujifilm 14mm f/2.8 Fujifilm 18-55mm f/2.8-4 Fujifilm 23mm f/1.4 Fujifilm 35mm f/1.4 Fujifilm 55-200mm f/3.5-4.8 Fujifilm 56mm f/1.2 Fujifilm 60mm f/2.4

Other

Tiffen Black Pro mist filters Cactus V6 wireless flash transceiver Cactus RF60 Speedlight Elinchrom Quadra Think Tank Retrospective 7

131 Section 25 TIM KEMPLE

www.kemplemedia.com

I don’t sit still very well. It’s genetic for sure, my dad and uncles all have the same gene. By the time I was 13 our family had traveled to 49 of the 50 states, most of them by car. My folks grew up in big families and even though we were middle class we were frugal. We camped out under the stars rather than stay in hotels. And we ate out once in a blue moon. I didn’t realize it at the time, but I really was born into a life of adventure. I thought everyone was a climber, skier, or hiker – and had seen Yellowstone, Mt Rushmore, and Yosemite.

132 So maybe it’s no surprise that I first picked up a camera in high school at about the same time that I got my driver’s license. My old N90 became a way for me to document cross-country adventures – with friends and by myself. The story was what was most important, and capturing my life on the road in a way that looked badass to my friends and family was my creative direction.

I shot on expired slide film at first because it was all that I could afford and the guys at the outdoor store I worked at let me borrow the shops 35-70mm lens. The rest is history I suppose. Not much has changed… the litmus test of my best work is still my friends (who are world class athletes these days) and my family (who continue to be the most supportive people in my life).

I’m actually writing this from an airport lounge half-way across the world as I venture towards a month long shoot in Nepal and the kit you see pictured is packed just for this project. My hope is to document the high Himalaya in a way I haven’t seen before… stay tuned.

I like to tinker so over the years I’ve shot with a ton of cameras. From that early N90, then a F100, and finally a F5 as my last still camera. Then digital came around and there have been a lot of those: Nikon D1x, Nikon D70, , Nikon D70s, Sony A900, Canon 5D, Canon 1DS, Canon 1D, H4D, Nikon D800, Nikon D4, Nikon D4s, Nex7, Phase One IQ180, Phase One IQ250, Sony A7r, Nikon D810, and some more I can’t remember.

Cameras have always just been tools for me and they get beat on….hard. Rain. Snow. Dangling over cliff edges. The image is what’s important to me as an artist. Dynamic range and resolution is what I look for in cameras and with lenses it’s mostly primes for their narrow and sharpness.

133 Right now on my commercial projects I’m shooting with the Phase One 645 DF + with IQ250 Back with a kit of Phase One glass.: the Phase One 28mm f/4.5, Phase One 35mm f/3.5, Phase One 55mm f/2.8, Phase One 75-150mm f/4.5 and Phase One 80mm f/2.8.

The two biggest reasons for this are not what you’d first expect. The first is that I can send images to an IPad easily so the client can review on location (yes I know other systems are available but they all suck compared to the built in PhaseOne solution in my opinion). We’ve used this all over the world. In the rain. On the side of mountains. In the ocean. It just works. The second is the ridiculously fast flash syncs – All of the leaf shutter lenses sync at 1/1600 of a second every time and without loss of power from my flash heads.

Speaking of flashes… I use off camera lighting in most of my shots, using Profoto Wireless Transmitters Sometimes you notice it, other times its subtle enough that it looks like natural light. Right now I’ve been digging on the Profoto B1’s. Again they just work. Consistently and reliably. If they could figure out how to get a bit more juice out of them…. wow.

For Nepal I’ve also packed my 35mm kit which is a Nikon D810 and Nikon D800. I’ve been in love with this sensor for the past couple years (it’s essentially the same one that’s in the IQ250 actually). The dynamic range is in a league of its own and the resolution is so crisp.

And if you told me that I could only bring one lens it would be the Nikon 24mm f/ 1.4 — though the new Sigma Art lenses have been pretty beautiful as well. I use the Sigma 35mm f/1.4 Art and Sigma 50mm f/1.4 Art. I also have a Nikon 70-200mm f/ 2.8.

134 Last but not least, I think the camera I’m most psyched to play with in Nepal is the new Alpa Camera with Phase One IQ280 Back. With the Rodenstock glass on the front, this collaboration is a dream come true. It’s the pinnacle of resolution right now and it’s so compact. I have my fingers crossed that it will shoot as well from the helicopter as it does from land.

I guess I should also mention that I just carried all of this gear on the plane in two bags (less the Profotos). I use F-Stop Camera bags. Right now everything is packed away in a F-stop Tilopa Backpack and a F-stop Lightroom Roller. I’ve helped F-Stop refine these bags over the years and they kick butt anytime you need to carry your gear beyond the comfort of your studio. Seriously badass. I carry my cards in an F- Stop Card Wallet.

Oh, looks like they are boarding my flight to Kathmandu – feel free to ask me any questions. I’m happy to answer here or via email. Just give me a few days as I might be in a tent under the stars.

Tim Kemple’s Camera Gear

Cameras

Nikon D810 Nikon D800. Phase One 645 DF

Lenses

135 Phase One 28mm f/4.5 Phase One 35mm f/3.5 Phase One 55mm f/2.8 Phase One 75-150mm f/4.5 Phase One 80mm f/2.8 Nikon 24mm f/1.4 Sigma 35mm f/1.4 Art Sigma 50mm f/1.4 Art Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8.

Other

IPad Profoto Wireless Transmitters Profoto B1 F-stop Tilopa Backpack F-stop Lightroom Roller F-Stop Card Wallet

136 Section 26 JAY CASSARIO

www.jaycassariophoto.com

My name is Jay Cassario, a portrait and wedding photographer from Southern New Jersey. I’m one half of the husband and wife team called Cass Imaging, the half that’s not as pleasing to look at. We’re now known as Twisted Oaks Studios following a merger with another awesome photographer JD Land. I have an

137 obsession with Skittles, Pinetree scented candles, and my 4 month old mini-me named Luke.

Here is a little peek into the gear I own and choose to shoot with. I have a unique opportunity as a writer for both SLR Lounge and Shotkit to get my hands on pretty much any gear I want, to review and write about, so my bag usually has a nice variety to choose from.

Besides shooting both Nikon and Canon gear for the last few years, which is a little unorthodox, the other thing that often stands out about my gear choices is that little red logo you see. The Leica logo. I was asked to review the Leica M9 and a couple lenses last year, a camera I had never held before, let alone shoot.

At the same time, I was reviewing the Nikon D4S, a camera I had planned on purchasing. Long story short, I ended up sending the D4S back without a 2nd thought, and bought the Leica M9 and haven’t looked back. Shooting with the Leica rangefinder not only made photography fun again for me, but it ultimately made me a better photographer. It gave my work a different look and now a year later I have a good relationship with the company that I have come to love.

To give you a little background, my mother was a wedding photographer who shot all Canon 35mm SLRs and then stayed with them through her transition into digital. My first camera was her hand-me down, which was a Rebel XT. Surprisingly though, my first DSLR purchase was the Nikon D90, and then the Nikon D700.

In 2012, my mother passed and I started my portrait and wedding photography business with one camera and a couple lenses with my wife. As my business took off, I wanted the best equipment for the job, and I found that it wasn’t always Nikon that had the answer. I found that having a few different options, while keeping my gear to a minimum seemed to work best. I don’t like switching lenses all the time, so

138 I prefer to have a couple bodies with a prime lens attached, with one or 2 more primes in my bag for when the situation calls for it.

I love the Nikon Df and the Nikon D750 for their low-light capabilities, the Canon 5D Mark III and Canon 5D Mark II for the awesome Canon colors and skin tones, and the Leica M9 for when I want something a little more unique.

The Leica 50mm f/1.4 Summilux is hands down the best lens I’ve ever shot with, and since the Leica M9 struggles in low light, I recently added the new Sony A7II with the M adaptor.

Bottom line, I’ve yet to find a system that is perfect and fits all my needs. Nikon’s colors aren’t quite there for me, and while I love the look of the images my Canon bodies put out, they struggle in low light and are horrible with dynamic range. Leica is simply a joy to shoot, and with my Leica lenses, the images have more character and unique looking lens flare when I want to add something a little more creative to my shots.

I’m looking forward to see what Canon brings us in 2015 with their 5DS and 5DMarkIV, hopefully they make up some ground in the low-light department.

I also have a love for Medium Format film which I satisfy with the Mamiya RZ67. It’s a big brick of a camera, but still produces amazing film images and polaroids that I absolutely love. Here is a breakdown of what is shown in my gear shot…

Camera bodies:

Nikon Df, Nikon D750, Canon 5DMarkIII, Canon 5DMarkII, Leica M9, Sony A7II

Lenses:

139 For Nikon I have the Sigma 35mm f/1.4 Art, Nikon 58mm f/1.4, Nikon 85mm f/1.8.

For Canon I have the Canon 24mm f/1.4, Canon 35mm f/1.4, Canon 45mm f/2.8 Ts- e, Canon 50mm f/1.2.

For Leica I have the Leica Voigtlander 35mm f/1.4 Nokton Classic, Leica 50mm f/ 1.4 Summilux, and Leica 35mm f/2 Summicron (not pictured, used to take photo).

I also have a slew of lighting equipment, which is also both Nikon and Canon, as well as a bunch of Wescott umbrellas, softboxes, and stands. I love to shoot in natural light, but I also know my way around a good off camera light setup. I have managed to build a system that works for me over the past couple years, which is the most important thing. It’s not the name of the manufacturer that’s important, its what fits your style and gets the job done.

Jay Cassario’s Camera Gear

Cameras

Nikon Df Nikon D750 Canon 5DMark III Canon 5DMark II Leica M9 Sony A7II Mamiya RZ67

Lenses

140 Sigma 35mm f/1.4 Art Nikon 58mm f/1.4 Nikon 85mm f/1.8. Canon 24mm f/1.4 Canon 35mm f/1.4 Canon 45mm f/2.8 Ts-e Canon 50mm f/1.2. Leica Voigtlander 35mm f/1.4 Nokton Classic Leica 50mm f/1.4 Summilux Leica 35mm f/2 Summicron

Other

Holdfast Money Maker ONA Astoria Macbook Pro Yong Nuo YN560 IV Phottix Strato II Multi

Interview with Jay Cassario

141 Section 27 STARK PHOTOGRAPHY

www.starkphotography.com

Thanks for asking us to be on ShotKit! We love this site and it’s an honor to be a part of it. We’re Daniel and Lindsay Stark of Stark Photography, based out of Portland, Oregon. We are a married couple and have been shooting weddings together for 8 years.

142 We describe our photography in 4 words: adventurous, romantic, fun and curious. We mostly shoot locally across Oregon but have also had the great luck of being able to photograph weddings in Greece, Australia, Mexico and the Caribbean, as well as destinations across the US. This job is awesome and we love every second of it!

When we first started out shooting weddings, we were shooting on one Canon 20D each and I remember being embarrassed when everyone else had all these fancy cameras and multiples of them at that. Then we started winning awards using these cameras and realized that camera equipment didn’t matter as much as we thought.

I think people can go way over board on gear, thinking it’ll make you a better photographer when actually it does the opposite. Look at all the greats – they shot on 35mm Leicas with a 50mm lens. That’s it. That said, we’ve naturally upgraded over the times and we love our latest set up.

Here’s what you’ll find in our Think Tank Retrospective 30 camera bags:

Cameras:

Canon 6D x3

Canon 5D Mark III – We’ve slowly gotten rid of our other 5D Mark III’s - they’re too heavy and not as snappy as the Canon 6D, and the 6D is a third of the price. We’ve won over 80 awards, photographed countless weddings using the 6D’s and no one can tell the difference. The only reason for keeping one Canon 5D MKIII is because of the external jacks that the 6d doesn’t have.

Lenses:

143 Canon 35mm f/1.4 x2, Canon 85mm f/1.8 x2 – We really could shoot an entire wedding with just the Canon 35mm f/1.4. It’s amazing. Best lens we’ve ever used. We picked the Canon 85mm f/1.8 over the Canon 85mm f/1.2 because of weight and focusing speed. It’s almost impossible to focus the 85 1.2 in dim light. Forget about using it during a reception. And that lens is massive. It must weigh 50 pounds. We always say the 1.8 makes a great lens, the 1.2 makes a great paperweight.

Straps:

Holdfast Money Maker Straps – If you have a two camera setup, there really is no other option. They’re life savers for your back. Daniel took it upon himself to customize his by spray painting the hardware black so he could blend in even easier. However Lindsay thinks he’s crazy and the spray paint rubs off on his shirts so her chestnut straps have stayed the same.

Flashes:

Canon 550EX, Canon 580EX II, Canon 600EX-RT and Yongnuo YN-565 EX II – They all do the same job as far as we’re concerned. If I found out about the Yongnuo flashes before, I would just buy those. They’re a lot cheaper and work like a charm.

Flash trigger system:

Lindsay has the Pocket Wizard Mini TT1 and Pocket Wizard Flex TT5. Which means she spends a lot of time cursing when it doesn’t fire and running back and forth between her shooting position and the flash. We’re now trying out the Yongnuo YN622C triggers. I can say this, they were only 70 bucks for the pair and they haven’t misfired once. And they take double AA’s – score.

Video light:

144 Switronix TL-BT200 Torch LED – It’s powerful and works great. It’s a little big so we don’t bring it to smaller shoots like engagements.

Fun and Personal cameras:

Fuji x100s x2 (the other one is being used to take this photo) – love these little guys. They really do put the fun back into taking photos. We bring them on weddings and they’re great.

Hasselblad 500cm with 80mm lens. Daniel loves this camera. People love getting photographed with it. It makes them feel like they’re getting their photo taken with a “real” camera. It’s amazing to see how their body language changes when you start shooting with it.

Snacks:

We always pack potassium sticks AKA bananas. Great boost of energy and easy to eat on the go. Lindsay’s secret weapon, if she can’t sneak a piece of wedding cake, is Chocolove’s Almond and Sea Salt Dark Chocolate Bar.

Hydroflask – You can go the whole wedding and you forget to drink water. The hydroflask keeps your water (or beer ;-) ), cold the entire day.

Stack of business cards. Always.

Daniel & Lindsay Stark’s Camera Gear

Cameras

145

Canon 5D Mark III Canon 6D Fuji x100s Hasselblad 500cm

Lenses

Canon 35mm f/1.4 Canon 85mm f/1.8

Other

Holdfast Money Maker Pocket Wizard Mini TT1 Pocket Wizard Flex TT5 Yongnuo YN622C triggers Switronix TL-BT200 Torch LED

146 Section 28 ANTONIO CUELLAR

www.antoniocuellarphotography.com

The answer to the first question that comes to mind if you see this image is “Yes”, at some point I did get tendinitis from carrying all this gear around in inevitably heavy pelican bags. I have to carry my gear around as I am a Commercial / Architectural photographer that photographs hotels around the world.

147 I also want to add that going through the process of meticulously removing all this gear out of its cases, in order to photograph it for Shotkit, helped me find small items I thought I had lost for years.

If we start with the back row you will find seven Bowens Gemini 750Pro strobes and their Bowens Travelpaks. I use Gemini Monolights as I need the flexibility of moving them around without cables getting in the way. These strobes are used when shooting interiors during the day in conjunction with smaller Canon 580EX ii and Nikon SB-80 speedlights pictured bellow.

I don’t like tying Monolights to electric outlets for many reasons, plus finding a power outlet could get tricky at times. This is when the battery packs (left of the strobes) come in handy. The Sanyo Eneloop rechargable batteries are the best for speedlights.

The second row from the back consists of eight Lowel DP (tungsten) continuous lighting heads. I use my Lowel DP heads with 500 watt or even 1000 watt bulbs for night exterior shots in conjunction with 2 amazing Yamaha EF2000iS Inverter Generators which I just sadly realize, as I am writing this, I didn’t include in this image. I also use four Lowel Omni head’s and four Lowel ViP pro head’s with less wattage for night interior shots. These lights get extremely hot and this is why a set of gloves is always necessary.

Bellow the gloves and slightly to the left you can find a set of gels and a Sekonic Prodigi Color C-500R. “Yes” I still use a color meter. This device is crucial in order not to go insane in post production. Most hotels are using energy efficient bulbs that have an unpredictable +1 or even +2 green cast that must be gelled with magenta or balance with green gels in supplemental lighting. The color meter is the

148 only tool there is to do it accurately and I personally don’t know any other interior photographers that use it. Maybe they all have super powers that I don’t have.

As you can see I have 2 tripods, the Manfrotto 058B which is extremely heavy and the Manfrotto 161MK2B which is ridiculously heavy. They both are also very tall and sturdy and sometimes they need to be raised so much that they must be used in conjunction with a ladder. Both of the tripods have a Manfrotto 410 Junior Geared Head which allow precision movements and fine tuning with a bubble level.

At the opposite end of the image you can find two Westcott Scrim Jim Extra Large Reflector Kits. These are used to diffuse blasting sunlight coming through a window at tricky times of the day.

I use two sets of camera bodies. Two Hasselblad H4D 60’s which I use for bigger jobs and two Canon 1Dx Mark III’s for smaller and more dynamic jobs. The Hasselbad files not only take longer to load into my computer, as I am always shooting tethered, but also slow down post production process.

My “go to” lens in the Hasselbald is the Hasselblad 35mm f/3.5 (24mm equivalent on a canon full frame SLR) or the Hasselblad 24mm f/4.8 in conjunction with the Hasselblad HTS 1.5 (which converts the 24mm focal length in to 35mm but allows me to shift).

My “go to” lens with the Canon setup is the Canon 24mm TS-E f/3.5. This is a superb lens for the price and I use this focal length 90% of the time for interiors. Occasionally I also use the Canon TS-E 17mm f/4L for tight spaces. The longer lenses in both systems are used for lifestyle and food photography.

Another item that is worth mentioning is my recent purchase of a supplemental battery pack for my laptop. I am not ready to endorse a brand as I only received it

149 last week but a battery power is a must have if a photographer is shooting tethered. Now that I have it I don’t know how I managed without it for all these years.

The walkie talkies (pictured top right) are used in order to be able to communicate with assistants in cases when we are lighting exterior that cover a lot of distance. The toolkit above the ladder is always necessary to fix and adjust things like tripods and lighting gear.

Antonio Cuellar’s Camera Gear

Camera

Hasselblad H4D 60 Canon 1Dx Mark III

Lenses

Hasselblad 24mm f/4.8 Hasselblad 35mm f/3.5 Hasselblad HTS 1.5 Canon 17mm TS-E f/4L Canon 24mm TS-E f/3.5L

Other

Canon 580EX ii Nikon SB-80 Manfrotto 058B Manfrotto 161MK2B

150 Section 29 GABE MCLINTOCK

www.gabemcclintock.com

So who am I? My name is Gabe McClintock and I am photographer based out of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. I married my best friend 11 years ago and have two little girls who are my everything.

151 Now what do I write?

Well I shoot weddings and on average shoot between 20-25 weddings a year with majority of them being destinations with amazing couples who love adventure as much as I do. I have also started to shoot boudoir work as a creative outlet for me since it’s so different then weddings and it has helped me tremendously in the way i look and use light in my photography and now what you all are here for… my Shotkit:

Cameras:

Nikon D750 x2 – I made the switch from Canon 5D Mark III’s last fall because I was frustrated with the low light focusing issues I was personally having with my canon gear. plus with my style becoming a little more on the dark side, the Nikon has amazing abilities to pull details from shadows.

Leica M – I use my Leica 100% for my boudoir work as well as some of my elopements. For my boudoir work, the limitation of it make me look at light much more creatively. The size and discreetness of the Leica gear helps my clients feel more comfortable then if I were to be using a bunch of gear and a big camera. iPhone – I use my iPhone more then any other camera I own as it’s always on me.

Lenses:

Sigma 35mm f/1.4 ART – this lens is crazy fast and crazy sharp wide open which is how i shoot it 95% of the time. The only drawback for me is the size and weight of it but the speed and sharpness make up for that.

152 Nikon 58mm f/1.4 – I originally bought the Sigma 50mm f/1.4 Art as like so many, I had read nothing but good things about it. But for me what i found was it was very clinical…no character. while the sharpness may be a good thing, I personally found there was no smooth focus fall-off like I was used to seeing in my favourite Canon lens, the Canon 50mm f/1.2L.

So i spent the extra almost $1000 to buy the Nikon 58mm f/1.4 and I am in love with it. I use this lens for 90% of my connection sessions and it doesn’t come off during the wedding day. The focus fall off is so incredibly smooth and it is extremely light weight which is great for traveling.

Nikon 85mm f/1.4 – I don’t use this lens that much, but for portraits nothing comes close in the look it delivers. I also use it for ceremonies to get in a little closer if my feet can’t take me there.

Leica 35mm f/1.4 Summilux ASPH – the ultimate leica lens. When I bought my Leica I knew I needed this lens. there is just something magical about shooting the 35 on a Leica RF.

Leica 50mm f/1.4 Summilux ASPH – I bought this lens after a few boudoir sessions where I felt I needed a tighter crop. Having the 35 and 50 combo for the Leica is perfect.

Flashes:

Nikon SB-910 – I bought this because I felt I should have one in my bag just in case. That’s about all I can say about it.

Memory cards:

SanDisk Extreme 32 GB – I bring 6 of these to every wedding

153 Bags:

Filson Harvey Backpack – I bought this a few months ago for my destination weddings and absolutely love it. It fits everything I need and having it on my back as opposed to one shoulder helps relieve neck fatigue when hiking around with my couples.

ThinkTank Urban Disguise 50V2 – I’ll use this for my local weddings as with my local weddings they are usually a little more “dressier” so a cargo green backpack isn’t ideal (not shown here).

ONA Bowery – I use this strictly for my Leica, because half the reason we all shoot Leicas is for the looks and I need a bag that looks just as cool. LOL

Headphones:

Bose QC 20i – these are a must have for flying. I put these in, turn on the noise cancelling and the entire world around me goes silent.

You can find me on Facebook and Instagram.

Inside Gabe McClintock’s Camera Bag

Cameras

Nikon D750 Leica M

Lenses

154 Sigma 35mm f/1.4 ART Nikon 58mm f/1.4 Nikon 85mm f/1.4 Leica 35mm f/1.4 Summilux ASPH Leica 50mm f/1.4 Summilux ASPH

Other

Nikon SB-910 Filson Harvey Backpack ThinkTank Urban Disguise 50V2 ONA Bowery SanDisk Extreme 32 GB

155 BONUS MATERIAL

156 VIDEO INTERVIEWS

www.shotkit.com

Six Tips for Shotkit offers advice from experienced and successful professionals, that you can use immediately to improve your photography and your photography business. The video quality of the interviews isn’t the best (blame terrible Australian Internet speeds!), but the content is excellent, with something for every level of photographer.

Internet is required to view the videos, which are on unlisted YouTube pages, exclusive to readers of the Shotkit Book. Please don’t share them ;-)

157 Section 1 GROW YOUR INSTAGRAM

www.robertjhill.com

Learn from traveling wedding photographer Robert J Hill on how he built an Instagram audience of over 27,000 fans from all over the world and how you can emulate his success.

Watch the video to discover Robert’s Six Tips for Shotkit to build, maintain and engage your Instagram audience, then check out his work and camera gear on Shotkit here.

158 Section 2 MASTER WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY

www.starkphotography.com

Husband and wife Daniel and Lindsay Stark of Stark Photography are an award winning wedding photography team based out of Portland, Oregon. They inject boundless energy, fun and creativity into their photography with their unique way of working.

After you have watched the video, be sure to check out Stark Photography on Shotkit here.

159 Section 3 IMPROVE YOUR PHOTOJOURNALISM

www.kirstenlewisphoto.com

Award winning wedding photographer Kirsten Lewis turned the family photography industry on its head with her unique blend of humourous photojournalism and creative composition. Often spending an entire weekend living with a family, Kirsten aims to capture all the real moments of frantic family life other photographers miss.

Once you have watched the video, head over to Shotkit to check out Kirsten’s work and the camera gear she uses.

160 THANKTHANK YOU! YOU!

www.goldhatphotography.com

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank you for your purchase of the Shotkit Book. I hope that you have learned a lot and are excited to get back out there and start shooting!

This book wouldn’t have been possible without the kind input of all the photographers involved. If you are interested in their work, be sure to visit the homepage link under their names and support them on social media.

161 Speaking of social media, you can find Shotkit on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Google +.

I also recommend that you sign up for the free Shotkit Newsletter, to keep you motivated with news, reviews and fresh inspiration.

I hope you enjoyed the Shotkit Book. I’d love to hear your feedback, so feel free to drop me a few words.

Best of luck with your photography!

- Mark

P.S.

If you’re a fan of Adobe Lightroom, I’ve just finished putting together a new 20 page eBook called Hot Tips for Lightroom.

It features 11 great tips and is a free download for Shotkit subscribers. Click here to grab a copy.

PPS. If you enjoy the Shotkit Book and would like to earn a 25% reward for referring your friends, sign up to be a Shotkit Book affiliate here.

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